Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Fated Shift
by Centurious The Azure
Summary: Daisuke Ikari: engineering prodigy and runaway Orb Nobility. Keijiro Mishima: Yakuza boss and proud pothead. How will fate shift with their existences? MxM FxK MirxD AxL OCxC
1. Shadows On The Sun

**Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Fated Shift**

**Disclaimer: **Listen closely, everyone, 'cause I will only say this once! I don't own Gundam or anything having to do with this franchise. Keijiro Mishima, Testament Corp., and Dante Cipher are the intellectual properties of my padawan learner Riax Tsoni. Ken Difalco and his Gray Demons are owned by my mentor Solid Shark. Sebastian Connor and his pack belong to my good friend and co-coconspirator Storm Wolf77415. My only properties are the original characters that come from the depths of my disturbed psyche. *Strikes Nice Guy Pose* Now onto the story!

_---_

**Chapter One: Shadows on the Sun**

_Alarms and klaxons blared all around the ship; it was the signal to let loose the dogs of war. "Level one battle stations! All pilots and crew must report to their assigned posts!" _

_The feminine voice beckoned over the intercom. The entire ship bustled with people floating to and fro. As troublesome as it was in zero gravity, they gave way to each other in the most hurried way. No one let panic strike them paralyzed, the trained soldiers of ZAFT of were too proud to let any messily executed Natural attack do that. _

_Uriel Yayal was one of those proud men, a twenty something Red Elite of ZAFT fresh from Key Point Academy. Yes, he was the cream of the crop. The very best the PLANTs had to offer. The very pinnacle of…_

_"Nice ass, Shirley!"_

_Manly Coordinator evolution._

_A hand print about as red as his flight suit marked his handsome naturally tanned cheek. He considered that handprint a badge of courage and honor._

_A white helmet collided with his face faster than any pitiful Natural could toss. "Stop screwin' around, Uriel!" His commander bellowed at him, darting down the hallway past Uriel. The helmet vanished along with his commanding officer, leaving blood from his bleeding nose floating all around._

_"You didn't have to hit me!" Uriel whined, kicking off the floor to follow the commander. He didn't have time to nurse his newly earned badge of pain. The battle was already raging!_

_"There will be more of the award winning Soldiers of Passion after these important messages from our sponsors!"_

---

_"Everyday's a great day at your Junes!"_

Today wasn't a great day… As a matter of fact, it was sucking rather hard. Incredibly hard for Keijiro Mishima, the self proclaimed baddest Yakuza kid in and around Heliopolis. By Coordinator standards, he was an adult at sixteen years old. This asshole of a guard didn't seem to recognize that fact. The fat pig of a police man was sitting at his desk laughing his ass off to some commercial about chimps in bikinis. Keijiro didn't give a shit about whatever the hell that was selling. He only cared about getting out.

"Hey pig!" Keijiro called for the officer's attention as he pounded on the bars. "When can I get somethin' to eat?"

"Shaddup, ya dumb brat!" The fat man snapped back at Keijiro. His attention went totally back to the television. The man switched the channels with the lazy push of a button. Now the TV was showcasing a game show, the object of the contest was to throw up in the orange bucket before any of the other contestants had the chance to purge themselves. Keijiro grimaced at the sight of one of the jackasses losing their lunch.

The pig let out a characteristic disgusting squeal through a mouthful of hoagie. It evolved into a series of choking and sputtering noises that sent him storming into the bathroom. He would've been a star candidate for the game show.

"Dumbass…" Keijiro sneered, going to plop down on his lumpy cot. He only stared at the drab ceiling for a long time until his tired body finally dragged him into unconsciousness.

_That asshole Daisuke better bail me out…_

---

Daisuke Ikari sneezed that very moment; he had a feeling who was talking about him… Whatever Keiji said or did usually meant trouble for Daisuke. And that was the last thing he needed or wanted. He moved from the PLANTs back to his homeland to have a normal life. Then again, his life had hardly ever been "normal".

Daisuke was a seventeen year old native son of Orb. His pale skin greatly contrasted his dark neck length hair. Even after he got out of bed, his hair always ended up becoming a wild bush. It was a typical thing… No matter how much he tried to blend in something about him always made him stand out amongst the crowd. He tried taking up the typical teenage loose clothing look, that didn't work either. The look eventually grew on him like every other seemingly normal thing he tried. Daisuke often wondered if his parents had intended to make his life abnormal by making him a Coordinator.

_I was doomed from birth… _He griped mentally. He was so deep in his reverie that he didn't notice the forest green and gold robotic bird perched on his head. "Torii!" The little bird brightly chirped. His attention finally was caught by the bird's cheerful cry. "You really think my hair is your one of your nests don't you, Birdie?" He said flatly, his small smile told the exact opposite about his mood. If the Birdie was here it meant his owner wasn't far away.

"Torii!" The free bird exclaimed, taking off for the wild blue yonder. That yonder was rather limited; the mining colony of Heliopolis was a decent imitation of his home._ This place lives up to its name… _Like the Pacific island nation of Orb, its weather was a brutally eternal summer. It was always hot and humid. It was one of the many reasons why he preferred the PLANTs to Heliopolis.

Birdie must've been very in tune with his feelings; he followed it until it swooped into a gazebo. His friend, Kira Yamato, sat with his laptop lying in his lap. Kira typed away at his machine like a master pianist… More like a hurried guy who didn't want his average to explode in a fiery blaze of failure.

"Hey, man!" Daisuke greeted cheerfully, slipping into the gazebo to take a seat. "Kato running you ragged again?"

"Yeah…" Kira sighed looking up at him with his amethyst eyes, looking a bit bleak about his situation. He didn't know Kira to worry about his grades. Out of their clique, he had to have the best GPA. Kato was known to break even the best of his students. "But I won't be another victim!" Kira declared once Birdie landed on his computer with a seemingly supportive cry.

"Let's kick his ass!" A feral smile crept up on Daisuke's face, scooting closer to Kira to get a better look at his work. "Figuratively speaking…" Kira chuckled, smiling at his friend's joke. It was moments like this that made their friendship.

_"THOSE DAMN NATURALS!" _

"What the hell?" Kira flinched; he was totally caught off guard by the familiar barking. Daisuke had a hard time holding back his amusement. "Sorry 'bout that." Daisuke tried his best to sound apologetic though series of chuckles. "That's my new Patrick Zala ring tone. Hilarious isn't it?"

"I guess…" Kira gave him a strange look. Patrick Zala wasn't exactly a figure you associated with comedy.

"I'll explain after I take this," He smiled at his friend's confusion. Daisuke walked off, and flipped open his cell. "Talk to me."

_"It's been a long time, Yukimasa Ikari Sahaku..." _The feminine voice's greeting caused a chill to run down his spine. Nobody from around here was suppose to know that name. It reminded him too much of a life he left behind a long time ago. A life that was too abnormal for his taste.

_"Hello...?"_ The voice that vied for his attention had a edge of familiar irritation to it. Recognition clicked into place in his mind. "Oh..." Daisuke sighed in relief, he was glad that it was only Cagalli and not one of his weird relatives. "It's just you, Cagalli."

_"Only me?" _Cagalli questioned, he heard the irritation rising in her voice. He knew irrtation was only the beginning for this girl. In the most extreme cases, she'd be playing Godzilla and he would be thousands of screaming Japanese.

"Better for you to call than some other people I know..." Daisuke said awkwardly, he knew he had to diffuse the situation some how. He wasn't sure how to... He was taken a little off guard by her out of the blue call. It was a sign her impulsiveness hadn't changed...

He knew that wasn't in his favor.

_"When were you going to tell me you were here?"_

"Things got a little nuts in the PLANTs for me after the Bloody Valentine." Daisuke told her half the truth. He knew if he contacted somebody on Earth there would be a slim chance of his family tracking him down. Those people finding him was the last thing he wanted.

_"Your family's been searching."_

"Figures Ghina would try..." Daisuke scowled, his voice was filled with equal distaste. Out of all those pompous elitists, he despised that man the most.

_"Mina...does miss you a lot."_ Cagalli admitted,_ "But she'd never say it directly."_

Daisuke's frustraited sigh went off inwardly, guilting him into coming back didn't work in the past and it sure as heck wasn't going to succeed now. _Now they're sending my friends, _his thoughts were ripe with disdain and a good bit of anger. _This is a new low for them..._

"Don't tell me you came all this way just for little old me?" Daisuke teased only to change the subject. Despite not seeing Cagalli for years, he still knew just what pushed her buttons. Those buttons produced crackles and sparks when pushed the right way. Cagalli was a volitile spark in her own right.

_"Don't flatter yourself..." _Cagalli snorted, he was surprised to find there was humor in her voice. It wasn't the reaction he expected. Maybe she had changed... And probably not in a good way. _"Listen Yuki." _Cagalli became serious, he didn't like the sound of it one bit. _"I want to show you something... Come to Morgenroete, I'll be waiting in Doctor Kato's lab. You better not keep a lady waiting!"_

"Don't worry about it. I'll see you there!" The meaning behind her words hit him only after his phone clacked shut. What were the first things to come to a male teenager's mind after a girl tells him to meet her somewhere? The answer should be quite obvious. _That can't be it,_ Daisuke's mind tried rationally to dismiss the perverted possibility._ But after all these years... Could there be a chance? No... Cagalli most likely wants to knock my block off for not keeping in contact with her. Then again..._

A familiar voice from behind shattered his mental debate. "Is that a sword in your bag or are you just happy to see me?" Daisuke turned to see his friend Tolle Koenig with his girlfriend Miriallia Haw in tow. Tolle smiled victoriously at him, unfortunately he did have Daisuke in check. Milly on the other hand rolled her big blue eyes. Her boyfriend was known for his raunchy sense of humor and his shoot from the hip attitude. Daisuke had a appreciation for both, but there were certain limits even for him.

"Don't joke like that, dude!" Daisuke rebuked. "It's seriously creepy!"

"You know I can't resist, Dai." Tolle was enjoying himself a little too much. "Your reactions are simply classic." Tolle chuckled, playfully nudging his girlfriend. "Ain't that right, Miri?"

"No." Miriallia said sternly, punching Tolle in the arm with less affection. "You know how uncomfortable those stupid jokes make Dai." Daisuke gave her a grateful look and Milly smiled kindly back. They went a ways back, not quite as long as Cagalli or Kejiro. Daisuke and Milly were an item at one point... Let's say she's protecting one of his greatest secrets.

"Aww... c'mon, Miri!" Tolle protested, faking hurt the entire time. "Do you actually see how easy he makes it!" He gestured to the crimson wrapped bundle that stuck out of the school bag at Daisuke's side. "He carries around a sword in public for cake's sake! It's like something out of the pages of a manga! Who does that in real life?! It's like the comedy gods willed it!"

Daisuke tried his best to ignore his friend's rant. Tolle did have a point... Too good of a point, actually. What person in their right mind, Natural or Coordinator, carried around a sword in this day in age? It wasn't the hobby of a normal guy either. Normal teenage males collected manga, hid erotic magazines under their beds, and smoked illegal substances like it never had been outlawed to begin with. _The third one is more of Keijiro's hobby..._

"So what if I have some weird hobbies?" Daisuke challenged, even though he knew how pointless arguing was. Tolle wasn't the type of guy who let even the most inane things get away easily. "It's important to know how to protect yourself in today's chaotic world. Besides, I do have a permit to carry this thing." Daisuke patted the sword's hilt lovingly. That last part was a lie... Being related to those elitists had its perks.

"Please," Tolle drawled, not impressed at all with his arguement. He just had to be the winner in this one no matter what. "With that Kejiro dude as your friend, the entire Mishima Yakuza is in your backpocket. All of those guy practically know you by name alone. They probably payed off the police so you could carry that thing without worries."

Now Tolle went from a comedian to a conspirasy theorist in under a minute. It was a new record. Miriallia rolled her eyes in concert with Daisuke.

_"THOSE DAMN NATURALS!"_

Miriallia and Tolle despite being the "damned" shared a laugh. They got the joke. The man behind voice that was the joke was also a viral video sensation the world over. The slip of one politician made both Naturals and Coordinators forget about their differences for a moment and laugh. It was a beautiful thing.

"Speak of the devil..." Daisuke muttered absently, taking in the name that flashed repeatedly on his cell's caller id. "...Wassup now, Keiji?" Daisuke asked flatly. Daisuke hadn't bothered to flip it open, he instead opted to set it on speaker. He knew that Tolle and Milly were guaranteed to get a kick out of it.

_"Dude!"_ Keijiro's voice boomed on the speaker, like he'd found his messiah. Daisuke knew where this conversation was gonna lead. It was the same old song and dance that never ceased to irritate him. _"You gotta bail me out! Listen, this time it ain't my fault! I was mindin' my own business, walking home from last night's party, when these goddamn pigs pull up next to me in their squad car and start harassin' me. We traded a few words then all of a sudden I'm bent down over their car being pat down for stuff. The next thing I know I'm thrown in jail for some bogus charge. 'Drunk in public' my ass, man. I only pounded ten back at the party! It takes normally thirteen to get me buzzed, and you know that as well as I do. It's profilin', Dai. I'll tell you, these bacon scented soap using bastards are doin' this just 'cause I'm a Mishima!" _Kejiro's monolouge contained a few more explatives that made Daisuke's friends flinch.

Daisuke sighed. This was exactly what he expected from Keiji. Getting himself in trouble and asking him to use his influence to save him. They were friends... it was what he was suppose to do, apperantly. He was getting tired of doing this. Getting tired of being used as a get out of jail free card. "You've made your bed, Keijiro." Daisuke said slowly, harshly into the phone. "Now sleep in it for once..."

_"Screw you, man!" _Keijiro snapped, he didn't sound as angry as Daisuke thought he would be. He had the inkling that all his friend's brain power was devoted to a messy, dastardly Plan B. _"Just because you decided to play the self righteous douche today doesn't mean I'm not getting out! You'll see! I'll bust outta here and find your-" _Keijiro's voice cut off at the press of a button. He didn't need to hear his ranting to know what was gonna happen next. He hoped there wouldn't be too much collateral damage. _I'll probably hear it on the news later..._

"Wow!" Tolle laughed. The mischevious smile on his face told him that his overactive imagination was hard at work brewing up some utterly impossible scenario. "I wonder if he'll steal a police car or a mobile suit this time?"

"Don't be ridiculous..." Miriallia dismissed, her elbow to her boyfriend's side drove away his awesome video game worthy fantasies. "It's good that you're not enabling him, Dai. If he keeps this Yakuza fantasy of his up, there's no way he's going to be able to function in normal life." Miriallia lead the way to the gazebo. She didn't know the half of it. Keijiro's entire life was like some cheesy mafia themed action video game. He started extorting 'protection money' out of helpless Naturals when he was only eight. _Those were the good old days... _He missed the times when Keijiro wasn't applical for arrest.

"Speaking of delusions..." Tolle gestured to a certain dark haired boy. Kira Yamato was staring out into space with dreamy amethyst eyes. He wasn't paying the slightest mind to the dirge of violence that played on his computer. The news was going on about the newest bit about the war raging planetside. It was a situation Daisuke was glad to have escaped.

"Who ya dreamin' about, Kira Yamato?" Tolle leaned into whisper in his friend's ear suggestively. Kira flinched, breaking away from his day dreaming with a blossoming blush. They all knew who Tolle was hinting at.

"It's not like that!" Kira protested. They all decided to share a laugh at Kira's expense and leave it at that. The pervy ringleader's interest shifted to the news, strangely enough. Kira would have his reprieve... for now...

Tolle and the others squeezed in next to Kira to get the best view of the carnage flashing on the tiny screen.

---

_Smoke billowed and fire flared all from buildings all within camera shot. Throngs of people fled in the streets, trying to take cover from the fighting. All screaming their heads off in horror. It was like the apocalypse unleashed on Earth, if Godzilla suddenly got bored with Japan. Only it wasn't that classic radioactive lizard... it was invaders from space! That was how the news media painted it..._

_Two strange humanoid machines clomped into view, wielding huge guns that could make tanks feel like they needed to compensate. They were many meters tall. So much so, that they could literally stamp out any resistance. And they did, one of the machines kicked a miltary truck that was desperately trying to get away. The truck crashed into a house with horrible force. The mobile suit decided it wasn't over yet. Ship killing shells fired from its titanic rifle, ripping into the pitable truck with explosive fury._

_The camera turned over to the source of a girlish scream. A reporter clad both in a bullet proof vest and helmet was ducked down, perhaps muttering a quick prayer to whatever god he worshiped. He straightened himself up once he realized he had eyes on him. "T-This, This i-i-is B-Bill Bitzer!" The man stammered frightfully, he still looked about ready to curl up into the fetal position and call it quits. "Reporting from South China where ZAFT forces are attacking the Alliance military ferociously! Just one week ago, ZAFT conquered the base that safe guarded the Kaoshung mass driver!"_

_One of the humanoid giants boosted past them and over them, its wing mounted thrusters roaring like hurricanes. The reporter let out a embarassing screech once again. "It's game over, man! Game over!"_

---

"'Game over'!" Tolle mocked, cackling like the funniest thing had finally decided to slug him. "Big surprise," he remarked sarcastically after his Wicked Witch impression was finished. "What can a buncha choppers and tanks hope to do to mobile suits? The Alliance will hafta change up their game plan in a big way if they wanna survive!"

Daisuke rolled his eyes, he was gonna keep his opinion to himself on this one. He didn't feel the need to debate about this one. They all knew his feelings on the subject, anyway. He supported the PLANTs one-hundred percent. Not because he was a Coordinator, or even for the time he lived there before he escaped to Heliopolis. He felt the Sponsor Nations, the largest and most prosperous nations within the Alliance, were getting their just desserts. They used them for their talents, abused them for being different, and finally tossed a nuclear missle Junius Seven's way just because the PLANTs wanted some freedom. For the Earth's sake, Daisuke hoped the Sponsor Nations learned their lesson before the situation got too messy.

Miriallia didn't share Tolle's joking attitude about the war. It was a possibility that seriously worried her. "China's pretty close to the homeland, isn't it?" She asked in a nervous way. "Do you think we'll be alright?"

"Of course!" Tolle said enthusiatically, wrapping a reassuring arm around his girl's shoulder. "This is Orb not Sparta, Miri. We're neutral down all the way through!"

Two pairs of red and purple eyes shared a look. Their owners both hoped that was true...

---

One man knew it wasn't true. Was the promised peace emphatically guaranteed by this nation's motto a bold faced lie? Perhaps and perhaps not. There wasn't enough evidence to draw any real conclusions from. The mission's objective didn't require any digging beyond what was already needed. He'd "dug" a hole deep enough to fit an entire PLANT. If he didn't grab the rope while he still could... it could be his grave.

Kenneth "Falcon" DiFalco wouldn't let that happen, not as long as he had his mission. Too much was at stake to let even the slightest bit go wrong. Still, he was going to take a chance. It wasn't too much of a gamble. He knew all the variables abounding and figured them in accordingly. If things did go to hell... There was always a Plan A, Plan B, and so on.

Some people said he thought too much. They were perhaps right and wrong. He only knew from experience that men who thought too little about their actions were the first to go. For now, he'd have to worry about the here and now. _I'd better get going or else that blonde will keel haul me..._

Falcon headed out the door without giving any kind of farewell. He knew inanimate objects couldn't consider them.

The journey wasn't strenuous in the least. It was more conveniant than anything else. The elecar transportation system had stations on about every street corner. At the press of a button, a car could be summoned instantly to take you anywhere within the colony. A truly amazing experience to those who hadn't used it before. Like anything else, it was something that would eventually be taken for granted.

The real piece of wonder was the colony itself. He admired the men that designed it and built it. To think over a hundred years ago the concept of space colonies were considered a far away dream. Humanity during that time was too divided back then to even consider undertaking such titanic projects. As always, it seemed to take the possibility of the world ending to actually call them to peace.

Irony was that world's end might be coming soon again. It was strange, almost like clockwork how it happened. Over a century and it was so close to happening once more. Maybe what he did had the possibility to stop all the fighting?Maybe if they saw what it was capable of they'd be willing to put their weapons aside? Like with what happened with the nuclear bomb centuries ago.

No... That chance, in his mind, sailed for a black hole when he uncovered the knowledge as to who who was truthfully behind his conflict. Blue Cosmos were a lie, and the entire Earth Alliance that drove the war machine forward were a fraud. Madmen that manipulated everything from the shadows were...

"Mornin', Falcon!" A voice greeted him cheerfully. The source didn't surprise him, or knock him away from his ponderings. A lifetime of martial training and combat experience taught him how to think on his feet. This colony wasn't anything like the battlefields he'd fought on during his service. The peace couldn't deprogram what was already engraved on his very soul.

_Old habits die hard, I guess..._

"Tolle," Falcon turned to the boy and his friends. He reguarded them with a simple nod. That was about about as much as you could get out of him ever. "Miriallia, Kira, Daisuke..." His tone and the look you got out of his good eye were forever forbidding. As his sister put it: "My brother has all the warm feelings of cold, dead fish washed up on the Jersey shore." That was about the size of it. Dying had a certain effect on man...

"Going my way?" Falcon finished, gesturing to the station in question. He was alive now, in a sense, so why avoid the inevidable? He knew there would be a moment like this sooner or later. During the entire duration of his four month stay, he'd peaked the curiousity of these kids. They were his classmates and not anything beyond that. No room for anything of that nature in his line of work.

"Yeah." Mir answered. "Care to join us?" They had the same class at this hour. Not that it mattered, he was meeting a client there today before his final vanishing act. They'd say that not accepting a reward was insane. How could a man of his talent do something for charity? It was a waste of his talent. That's what he'd imagine them saying.

And who were they exactly? He wasn't sure... Falcon had the lion's share of detractors. Falcon shrugged. "Yeah. Why not?"

Miriallia's beaming smile was turned onto her boyfriend. He got the impression she was being smug. Falcon also gathered there was some sort of bet involved. Tolle wordlessly accepted his defeat. He'd have to pay up soon.

Daisuke and Kira didn't seem to notice or care. They seemed to be brooding over their own troubles. He guessed that Kato struck once again. Falcon was glad that anything beyond the mission didn't pertain to him nowadays. The mission alone was enough to handle.

Telltail school girl giggles caught his attention. He knew who they were, anyone who didn't either were brain dead or perhaps dead. Falcon would take a swift death over having to listen to that inane prattling. Flay Allster and her group were the campus darlings to those who wanted a two second distraction from their studies.

Falcon favored tuning them out this time. He forgot his classical music filled player back at the nest. He knew he forgot something... Maybe he'd find something of interest in one of the less brain dead people around him.

Miriallia's attention was consumed by Flay's "important news". He thought she was too intelligent to be bothered by it. Maybe it was more of her boyfriend's interest? Now he was a gossip hog. He'd seen him reading tabloids in between classes many times. Kira himself looked like it was the end of the world crashing on his head. What he saw in that Allster girl, he didn't know.

_"THOSE DAMN NATURALS!"_

If it wasn't for Falcon's incredible control he would've flinched some. He was all too familiar with Patrick Zala's barking. Fortunately, it was just Daisuke's cell phone. He was ready to whip out a pistol, thinking that Patrick had finally found him. All he did was throw Daisuke a look. Who in their right mind kept a Patrick Zala ringtone?

Daisuke ignored him and flipped his cellphone open. It apperantly was Kejiro Mishima... Local delinquent and self proclaimed Yakuza wunderkind. Daisuke Ikari did keep himself some strange company. The stranger thing was Ikari himself. He was anomaly in the system. A name and person that suddenly popped up from out of nowhere, There were no records of a Daisuke Ikari anywhere in Orb government's citizen registry. Stranger yet, a Daisuke Ikari popped up in the PLANTs four years ago to attend a technical college at Maius Three. He graduated a few years later within the top ten of his class and the top twenty of his school.

Ikari then went onto to work within the PLANT government's Integrated Design Bureau. He didn't do anything too amazing. He was a small part of the engineering team that produced the GINN, BuCUE, and finally the CGUE a little before the Endymion campaign. It wasn't too important, just a curiosity that caught his attention. He could let it rest as long as it didn't interfere with the mission.

Why did he dive into the backgrounds of these supposedly ordinary teenagers? Boredom held a large percentage in his reasoning. He wasn't much interested in the everyday activities of the day's teenager. It seemed a waste of his time to indulge like that. Especially when the fate of so many was on the line. So he told himself...

It also didn't hurt to know about your surroundings. Keeping yourself updated on people, places, and terrain were paramount to the mission. It was one of his many lessons. Which one it was escaped him at the moment.

A polite feminine voice cut into the chatter and gained Falcon's attention. "If you're not going to take this car, may we have it?"

The students spun on their heels to see a tall, sophisticated woman with a severely cropped haircut. The dark haired woman was flanked on either side by two even taller imposing men. The woman herself seemed to be in her mid twenties, students at that age in the college were a rare thing. The way the woman carried herself crossed off the chances of her being a student. She had a distinctly professional air about her. He could feel her hard stare on him behind the sunglasses she wore. He was waiting for her to break out her command drill sergeant bark. The woman and her friends were dead giveaways for military types.

"Yeah right, Keijiro!" Ikari's derisive snort wrecked the tension the strangers' presence created. "I'll pick you up the day ZAFT attacks!" He angrily snapped his phone closed. His statement had the eyes of everyone in the gaggle on him, Like he'd committed a horrible faux pas.

"Let's go already!" Daisuke called, totally ignoring their stares. It was clear he wasn't in a good mood as stomped past everyone and hopped into the convertible. Kira, Tolle, and Mirallia obediently filed in the car. Falcon decided to join in as well. He already did agree to go with them. His cycloptic gaze was focused on Daisuke Ikari. What did this guy know?

---

Daisuke didn't care about what he did or didn't know. Why focus on that when there was somebody's skull he wanted to cave in? Yeah, that sounded like a nice way to work off some steam. The number one problem would be he'd be sitting right next to the moron who caused all his frustrations in a nice, cool prison cell. That wouldn't serve at all. He landed himself in this wonderful situation because of his temper. His willingness to fight was also a problem he faced since he was a kid. It got him into a number of incidents over the years.

Now Daisuke wasn't a delinquent like Keijiro. The friends would consider it an insult to be compared like that. He was a contributing member of society like anybody else. He also was a fairly relaxed person that seemed to fit in well with almost any group of everyday teenagers. He taught himself how to unwind in the years after he abandoned all those cumbersome expectations back home where they belonged.

There were still guys who made it hard for him not to get enraged. His brother, a certain purple haired pedo he'd rather not name, Professor Kato, and Keijiro. Half of them weren't in his life, so it wasn't a problem. He had outlets like cheerfully flipping off guys he just cut off.

"Sit on it and rotate, pal!" Daisuke hollered over all the beeping horns and cursing of the other drivers. Yes, road rage was a very fun means of venting. He liked driving fast and blasting rebellious punk rock outta the convertible's powerful speakers. The music was more to pump himself up for seeing Cagalli. He needed a little courage if he was gonna face her.

"Slow down!" Tolle cries from the backseat contested with the loud music. "Pedestrians have the right away remember!?" Daisuke couldn't tell if Tolle was joking or screaming for his life. He decided to interpret it as a joke.

"Not while I'm behind the wheel!" Daisuke grinned toothily, seeing Tolle shrink in his seat some in the rear view mirror. The escaped noble got the reaction he so desired. He didn't forget Tolle's remarks from earlier.

"Slow down some, please!" Milly giggled, she didn't sound very convincing. She was mocking her boyfriend's cringing. She was having fun like Daisuke expected of her. He knew she loved living dangerously despite her good girl suburban upbringing. Falcon didn't look affected in the least. He got the feeling like this guy was expecting it. For some reason, his attitude always pissed Daisuke off. What'd he think he knew it all or something?

This person reminded him too much of his brother. Though Falcon didn't show anything, he imagined him smirking on the inside at his childishness. Just like that bastard did. Why the hell did he think he was so superior?

Daisuke purposefully swerved into the opposite lane right into oncoming traffic! He wanted to watch that mask shatter!

His smile big grin became savage in nature. Daisuke was intent on pushing this to the limit. Nobody looked down on him like that without paying dearly. Watching Falcon break down like a little girl would definitely sate him. He wanted to see the other driver's fear reflect in his.

"Watch out!" Kira hollered, grabbing onto the steering wheel quickly. His fast reflexes got them out of the other car's way. They could barely hear the driver's blaring horn and venomous cursing over the blaring stereo. Kira glared at Daisuke, it wasn't often he saw his friend angry. "What the hell was with that, Daisuke!?"

Daisuke realized he crossed the line. He could see Tolle and Miriallia trembling in their seat thanks to the rear view. Tolle had a comforting arm thrown around his girl's shoulder. His crimson eyes met with Tolle's narrowed blue ones. Miriallia's face was buried in Tolle's chest, she clearly expected the worst. Despite the wink Tolle threw him, he still felt ill about what he did.

Daisuke's own eyes narrowed dangerously once he saw Falcon shaking his head like a patronizing adult. His regret shifted into fury again. The car's pedal literally met the metal hard. Falcon was going on the list!

---

They reached Morgenroete's engineering department building in record time; not that there was a fire. Definitely, if Daisuke counted Cagalli. He knew not to keep the _princess_ waiting. Oh god, she hated it when he teased her about her position. Daisuke smiled fondly to himself. Maybe he would start a riot for old time's sake? Not yet. It was best to get Cagalli a good kilometer away from his friends before she blew.

Speaking of them, they rest of them were there too, Sai and to a lesser extent his bespectacled buddy's friend Kuzzey. Sai sat there next to Kuzzey, going over whatever new project the old hack had planned for them. Their professor, Doctor Eugene Kato, back in his day was a darling of the engineering field. Either he improved or invented a single doohicky that was uber important to their everyday lives. He made enough money off of it to retire early and bother, Daisuke meant teach, the younger generation about proper engineering. It wasn't too important to him since he already possessed a master's degree on the subject. He was missing the piece of paper giving him confirmation of his complete mastery. In another three months, Daisuke Ikari could wave around the title doctor in the old fart's face.

He'd save the fantasizing for later on. Right now, Daisuke had a date with the princess. "Yo, Cagalli." Daisuke greeted casually, he tried to let it reflect in his body language. Acting completely relaxed and cool was what won him the date many times. He'd already planned out every scenario in his head. What places to go, what to say, what was in or wasn't in; especially in the eats department. Yes, he considered himself one smooth operator.

"Don't 'yo' me, Yuki." The familiar blonde he walked up to sharp golden stare burned into him. Her voice was equally pointed, she sounded disatisfied even angry with him. He expected it about as much as her choice in attire. He'd save the paperboy comments for later on... He couldn't blame her. Daisuke did some horrible things when he left. Hurting his best friend the most, topping the list.

"I, I know I d-deserved that..." Daisuke strained, trying to keep his composure. Her booted foot subtly came down on his poor foot. Grinding painfully the entire duration. "L-listen, I'm very sorry." He said his apology through gritted teeth. He had the instinctual urge to want to yelp out in pain, but knew he had to take his punishment like a man. "I-I shouldn't have left without telling you. I should have kept in contact with you like a friend is supposed to. Please forgive me..."

"And?" The blonde girl demanded, obviously being genuinely apologetic wasn't going to suffice. Her foot's increased pressure on his made it more painful. Good thing everyone was preoccupied, he knew he couldn't do it in front of them. Being manhandled by her wasn't the embarassing thing. Cagalli was the toughest person Daisuke knew. Daisuke couldn't handle the prying eyes. Daisuke wasn't the type of man who put his real feelings out there. His feelings for Cagalli ran deep, deeper than any previous fling of his.

"You absolutely rule me..." Daisuke lied, he didn't sound convincing. So, he wasn't as smooth as he believed. It may've been his foot being crushed... No matter how many excuses he thought up, he knew he couldn't escape from the fact that he sucked at deception. "And you don't look like a paperboy in your fetching ensemble."

"Give me a reason not to slug you." Cagalli's strikingly golden brown eyes narrowed into vicious slits. Damn his inability to pull off a proper white lie. Since never has he used words like 'ensemble' and 'fetching'. He sounded like that purple haired fag they both hated with a burning white passion.

"If you knock me out, you won't be able to partake in the absolutely awesome apology dinner I have planned for us." Daisuke felt the painful scuffling on his foot cease. Cagalli kept her harsh gaze on him, and crossed her arms. She was listening... Now that was progress. "I made reservations for tonight at this steak joint I know. It's not any place, y'know! Place's rated four stars, steak so juicy you won't even need a drink to wash it down! Every dish is super expensive, but you know you can't put a price on friendship! Especially ours... Did I mention I'll be paying for it?"

Cagalli let out an unladylike snort. "Okay..." Cagalli relaxed her intense gaze. Still, the hardness in her voice told him he wasn't off the hook yet. "That place better have some damn good food."

"I can guarantee it." Daisuke grinned widely, giving her a thumbs up. She didn't realize it was his victory pose. His foot ached and his new tennis shoes were scuffed. He didn't mind... Victory was worth a few sacrifices. "Why don't we get outta here?" Daisuke asked, gesturing to the exit. "We can catch up some."

"Excuse me, Ikari..." A quiet voice cut in. Falcon stood near them leaned against the wall in the corner. He blended in too well with the dim corner with his gray trench coat. He stepped forward, his hands shoved in his coat pockets. "I have some business with Miss Cagalli Yula. You might want to join as well, _Lord_ Yukimasa. This concerns you as well..."

"How the hell do you know that name?" Daisuke demanded in a low growl. He stared down the unflinching youth coldly. His hand touched lightly on the crimson wrapped bundle peakng out of his bag. Falcon's hand slowly departed from his pocket and unbuttoned his coat.

Cagalli's hand fell on his quivering one. "Calm down, Yuki." She said firmly, guiding his hand away from his bag. "I'm the one who told him..." Cagalli's eyes meet didn't his at all. Her head was bowed in embarrassment. "I kinda blurted it out when I told him about you. We need your help, Yuki... There's something going on that I can't handle alone. Something big... I think it may involve my father..."

"You should've come to me sooner." Daisuke kept his now serious tone low. He checked over his shoulder to make sure they weren't being watched by his friends. They didn't need to get involved in his business. He had the feeling this was going to get intense.

Cagalli opened her mouth to say something, but Daisuke waved her off easily. "Don't worry about it!" Daisuke smiled big at her, adding a wink. "It's what friends are for."

"Thanks..." Cagalli flushed. She wasn't very good at dealing with her feelings either. She worked up the courage anyhow. "After we're done, I'd be glad to..."

"Ahem..." Falcon faked a cough into his fist. It was impossible to tell... Daisuke got the impression he was getting impatient. "If you don't mind, can we get onto the meeting?"

"Oh, right..." Cagalli trailed off, she'd totally forgotten the intensity of the situation. "Did you get the data?"

Falcon simply nodded, withdrawing a small computer from the inner depths of his coat. "The information you gave me was right on spot," he said in a hushed tone. They'd huddled in the corner Falcon appeared in. The two childhood friends made a wall so that no one could see the sensitive data Falcon gathered for them. Daisuke was the one who seemed to notice his and Cagalli's closeness.

Falcon didn't prattle about it despite the fact it was about the most obvious thing in the room. "Morgenroete is constructing five prototype MS for the Earth Alliance, and a new model of mobile assault ship to transport them." He held up the device for them to see. The screen flashed with disturbingly familiar images, each of the MS frames screamed right in Daisuke's face. All the pieces fell right in to place him. It all added up... Frighteningly well.

"There's no goddamn way..." Daisuke said in shocked disbelief. He tried laughing off his shaken state. "Please tell me this is cruel joke, Cagalli. Where are all the cameras, huh? You got me dead to rights. There's nobody else who'd think up using my class project for getting back at me. Is Tolle in on this...?"

"What are you talking about?" Cagalli blinked. She didn't have an inkling on what he was getting at. "What class project?"

"I'm afraid this isn't a jest, Lord Sahaku." Falcon shook his head regretfully. A serious edge crept up into his otherwise toneless voice. "This is what you presented in front of us two months ago for our winter break project. I thought you might have had a part in this, but I see from your reacton that is not the case."

"That copy cat bastard!" Daisuke cursed vilely, going straight for the door. His friends' gazes were on his back when the automatic door sharply hissed shut. They knew to stay out of his way when he entered his 'Avenger State'. That's what Tolle dubbed it because when he got mad he got even. And he wouldn't stop until the wrong on him was righted. They all wondered who earned them themselves such a distinctive award.

Cagalli followed with Falcon in casual tow. Now three on one wasn't... The building shook violently, knocking several of the students off their feet. Tolle inside the heavy exoskeleton was the most unfortunate. He was on his back, strapped in and unable to move.

"Now this ain't fair!"

---

Not at all, then who said anything was fair in war? Nobody did. The great thing about it was you could do anything you wanted in the name anything as long as the people deemed it just. Religion, ideology, land, resources, spite, or love. No matter how frivolous the reason, it was good enough as long as the people approved. And that was Commander Rau Le Creuset's job: to give the people what they wanted.

"Don't look so serious, Ades." The commander addressed his XO coolly. Captain Ades' expression darkened further. They were in disagreement over a small detail... One that wouldn't matter much in the long run. He already had the approval of the highest power of the PLANTs. Not the Supreme Council or even Chairman Clyne's say could shut out their cries. The people wanted justice for the atrocities committed against them, against their race.

Ades sighed. The captain was always one to by the books. Maybe it was why Le Creuset was wearing white and him black. Going by what the rules said seldom got results. "We can still contact the Supreme Council..."

The man wearing immaculate white shook his masked head. "Waiting for their answer will take much too long. My intuition tells me if we tarry... we'll die." He watched his captain shiver in his seat, he'd meant for his casual prophesy to be unsettling. Ades was also a superstitious man. Some would see it as a feature to look down on in this age of 'enlightenment', this age of science called the Cosmic Era. The masked man found it a useful one. Ades was an easy man to persuade.

"And you know my intuition is never wrong, Ades." Le Creuset said easily, passing a photograph to the subordinate officer. The picture was a blurry image of a humanoid shape. Inhumanly large, its white shape had golden horns sticking out of its forehead. The image was excuse enough let to do anything they wanted... He had the people on their side.

"Let's begin the operation..." Le Creuset smirked. He was never one to disappoint, not at all.

---

And Athrun Zala always delivered. As a ZAFT red it was his job to lead the charge against the enemy. The cream of the crop had to set an example for the other soldiers. Despite how wrong this all felt, he knew he had to take it in stride. This was for the sake of the homeland. If these machines got into Earth Forces hands... Athrun dreaded to think what might happen.

"It's like the commander said," one of his comrades noted coldly. Yzak Joule had an expression that matched his icy appearance. His hair was snow white like the coldest day on Earth produced. His intense icy blue stare could have frozen Athrun on the spot. Luckily for him, Yzak's stare was focused on the road below them. He held a pair of binoculars to enhance the range of his hateful sight. The road below them was connected to the factory district that housed their targets. If their plan worked, their pincer attack would have the Alliance trapped in their own hole at ZAFT's mercy.

Right next the white haired boy, Dearka Elsman let out a snicker. "If we poke 'em just a bit, they should come scurrying outta their tiny hidey holes." Dearka's cropped wheat colored hair clashed with his tan skin. It was like he'd been working in the fields all his life. Dearka's cynical, laid back attitude made a surprisingly good balance for Athrun's self proclaimed rival. Athrun kept his distance from the dangerous duo when ever possible. Whoever was Yzak's focus was also Dearka's target.

"Why don't we come to them instead?" Another young man said with an almost sadistic sense of amusement. The sound of Morinobu Sanada's silky voice sent chills up and down his spine. He never liked being near the pale skinned guy. He approached battle like it was kind of funhouse for everyone to enjoy. His reddish brown eyes sparkled playfully when he laid them on the green haired boy next to him. "It'd be much more fun that way." His lips were stretched thin into a preditory smirk. "Don't you agree, Nicky...?"

Nicol Amafi was the Le Creuset's team's youngest member. His fragile appearance and gentle nature made him the prime candidate for seniors pilots like Morinobu to pick on. Nicol froze up like dear in the head lights. Athrun could feel his little friend's fear. It was like he was being coiled around by a scaly serpent ready to take his prey into his gullet.

Athrun glared at his senior. "Leave him alone, Sanada. This isn't the time your head games..."

"Alright, alright!" Morinobu put up his hands defensively. His smile morphed in into the playful sort. "I'm just trying to get our little buddy here psyched up for his first engagement~" He clapped Nicol hard on the shoulder, pushing their most junior member towards Athrun. "You should prepare yourselves as well... I hear this will be your very first battle."

The other reds had harsh stares at the man clad in a black flightsuit. Yzak was especially perturbed. "Who the hell do you think you're talking to?! We wouldn't be trusted with such a sensitive mission if command didn't think we were capable!"

"Now, I didn't say that." He corrected, wagging his finger condescendingly. "I know you boys wear that red uniform for a reason. I'm just saying you should be prepared for the reality we're going to be facing..." He looked Yzak directly in the eye. His reddish brown eyes were hard as stone. "It's kill or be killed, my good man. If you don't give this your all you could... die."

Athrun knew the strange man was right. A soldier's realm was a harsh existence. Some people made an entire lively hood paved on the corpses of their adversaries. They fought their hardest to live just as Athrun would have to do a few minutes from now. He didn't want to live his entire life like that. After the conflict was over and done with Athrun would live a peaceful life.

The ground under their feet shook without pretext. Far off in the distance, explosions ripped through the factory district. It didn't matter who you were... Earth Alliance personnel, Orb citizen talking nice stroll, or an innocent child playing with your friends after school. The firey rapture indiscinminately took them away from this life in an instant. Their ashes fell like rain...

"So, it begins..." Morinobu muttered, walking off into the smoke filled horizon. His dark flightsuit blended him into the backdrop almost perfectly. He vanished like a wraith when he fell forward off the building's edge. The jetpack strapped to his back carried him far away.

Nicol stared in grim awe of the spectacular explosions. Athrun could not tear his eyes away either. The elder boy had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. This was where his war started...


	2. A Fork in the Road

**Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Fated Shift**

**Chapter Two: A Fork in the Road**

It was a funny thing... Daisuke never thought his statement would come true. It was the very last thing he ever expected to come to pass. When ZAFT attacked the Heliopolis colony, it put the kaibosh on an alliance between the OMNI and Orb. He wondered which stupid bastard in the one of the five families in the Noble Line of Orb was responsible for this. His arrogant SOB brother or that retarded purple haired pedo who had an obsessive like for Cagalli? No, he was _definitely _giving Yuna too much credit. He couldn't so much as move without his windbag of a father there to tell him how to. Yuna's father, Unato Ema Seiran, was the more likely suspect. He was a fat blob of high sugar fruit favored jelly dounuts, but he was far from being a total moron like his son. As much as he didn't want to, he couldn't figure Cagalli's father out of this sinister equation. Lord Uzumi Nara Attha was a man he deeply respected and looked at as somewhat of a second father. He hadn't seen the man in almost five years... That's enough time for even the most honorable man to become a twisted shell of his former self.

Daisuke shook himself. He didn't want to think about it right now... He already had enough trouble plaguing the outside of his mind. Not paying attention right now could get him and Cagalli killed. Not to mention he had some business to settle with the good doctor Kato. He'd make sure the bastard would pay for what he did. Stealing after all was a crime punishable by bisection of the offending arm in most Middle Eastern countries. Heliopolis wasn't anywhere near the desert, but... Daisuke touched on the crimson draped bundle in his bag. He had the tools to do it.

"Watch out, Yuki!"

Daisuke slammed into something with a resounding _thunk. _He dropped to the metallic floor like a sack of bad potatoes. His nose hurt and he felt something wet and warm drip down his cheek. He was disoriented for several moments, he wasn't sure what or who he hit.

Daisuke heard a familiar voice sigh. "Somethings don't change, I guess. You still are a spacey klutz." He looked up at young, pretty face framed by blonde hair. You couldn't really tell so easily that she was a girl. The way she dressed made her look like a very slim, standoffish yet pretty boy. Don't tell her that though... She might bite somebody's head off.

"And you're still a foul tempered tomboy, Cagalli." He shot back, watching her attractive face contort into a marring scowl. He got back on his feet and glared at the pipe he ran into. Who the hell placed a pipe in the middle of a hallway? It made sense though... Considering they were dashing through a mantinence tunnel that was shaking from the explosive force of the battle raging outside.

"Can we get going now?" Falcon's unsettlingly calm voice asked. Daisuke picked up the slightest bit of impatience in his tone. He wondered how this guy could keep his cool so easily in a situation like this. This person slightly reminded him of a character he'd seen in a video game once. He was tall young man his exact age. His light brown hair was cut in something of a contrast with his facial hair. His hair was similarly cropped to how military man's would be. His facial hair was stragglely like he'd forgone shaving for several weeks. This and the black eye patch covering a terribly scarred eye made his appearance all the more unapproachable. His single good eye was colored a hard, icy ocean blue.

His cycloptic gaze coldly swept over them and assessed them. Silently pondering if they were a risk to the mission, Falcon honestly didn't have time for this. Babysitting a pair of lovebirds wasn't something that he needed. Unfortunately, he couldn't just walk away from them. He had a binding verbal agreement with Miss Cagalli Yula Attha. Yes, he knew of her real identity. It was his job to know.

"Wait a sec!" Ikari protested, wiping the crimson from his bloodied nose. Falcon sighed inwardly, yet another interruption. "Where the hell are we going exactly? I'm a familiar with these tunnels..." Ikari paused for a moment. Seemingly catching himself from saying something damning, Falcon had an inkling of whatever he caught had to do with Keijiro Mishima's illegal doings. He didn't care about it. It had nothing to do with his mission. "And I just happen to know this corridor doesn't lead anywhere."

Falcon refrained from rolling his eye. "Trust me... There's something at the end of his corridor." He said curtly, turning his back to them and taking a step forward. His trench coat's end flapping like grey tail feathers with the sudden blast of air rushing through the dimly lit hallway.

Daisuke had a certainly appreciated the gust for a moment. Cagalli's hat flew off her head, shooting down the hall like a bullet until it hit someone smack dab in the kisser. The hat didn't stay to apologize...

"Wait up!" The victim called, running towards them. It became more apparent who it was in the dimness when he came closer to them. It was a teenage boy they recognized as Kira Yamato, and also known as the Brown Haired Dork from the Computer Lab to Cagalli. He was a skinny boy of average height and non Asian features opposite to his name. This wasn't too surprising considering they were living the age of genetic modification. His deep purple eyes were about as natural as Daisuke's dark red ones. Kira's mighty Coordinator quickly brain came the obvious conclusion when he saw Cagalli's pretty head without the dumb beret for the first time.

Kira stared. His mouth was somewhat a gape. "You're a... girl." He stated. Not exactly the smartest thing to say to a girl, but it was still right on target.

Ken and Daisuke unknowingly had the same defining term for Cagalli's reaction. Instant irritation. "The hell you think I was, huh!? Spit it out!"

"Look..." Ken pointed out, turning back to them. He was tempted to let some irritation slip into his calm voice. Temptation lost... Calm was the mantra and the name of the game in situations like this. "We don't have time for this. I'd tell you to go back, but the way you came from is most likely trashed." The shaft rumbled to emphasize his grim point. "There are shelters where we're heading. Let's go."

Falcon took off in a dash, slate gray trench coat fluttering behind him. The others followed without hesitation. He did seem to know what he was doing. Operative word was seem... Daisuke didn't trust Captain Stone Face over there. He didn't know what dark corner of the internet Cagalli found this guy. Following him could get them killed, captured, or worse. Daisuke didn't want to think about the third option.

"I just... didn't think we'd get involved," Cagalli said softly, tears welling up in her eyes. She choked a sob rising in her throat. "We're supposed to be a neutral nation..."

"Don't worry..." Kira assured her, placing a comforting hand on her arm. "We should be fine once we get to the shelters." Kira cast a glance at the boy in grey ahead of them. "Though I can't say he intends to do the same..."

Daisuke felt a pang of jealousy watching Kira comfort her. He wanted to be in Kira's position washing away her worries. Well, if Kira wanted to be the positive one he could play the cool one. "If all else fails, I'll protect us." He proclaimed confidently. His hand fell on the crimson package sticking out of his bag. "You can leave it to me. I've got the means and the plan to help us get out alive."

"What's a sword going to do against mobile suits? I don't think a thin piece of metal could pierce thick armor like that." Kira gave Daisuke an incredulous look. He really didn't want to hear Kira's sound logic at the moment. Did he have to mess with his cool points?

"Shut up, Kira..." Daisuke flatly retorted. He could have mustered a better rebuttal, but this wasn't the right time to argue.

They eventually reached the end of the corridor to find there was nothing there. No new door leading into a secret facility... Just a cold metal wall to meet and greet them. Daisuke felt smug. He and Cagalli knew this place better than anybody else. In their childhood, they'd come to Heliopolis ' Morganroete facility with their families for whatever business they had at the time. When their fathers were busy, Daisuke and Cagalli would play all matter of games around the labyrinth corridors. It was almost too perfect for hide and seek. Daisuke remembered when...

"Door's open..." Falcon announced monotonously, yanking his computer's cord out of the wall. Interrupting Daisuke's happy thoughts... He'd cease having them for the rest of the day. The wall hissed, and slowly split in two until the heavy partitions totally vanished into the walls. The sounds of gunshots blazed in the background in concert with explosions. This wasn't good... The inner sanctum did exist... The center of the Earth Alliance's deplorable plans were here and very much reality.

The foursome ran out onto a catwalk several feet off the factory floor. People on ground fought hard through the fire fight, ducking behind boxes and whatever else they could use for cover. People dropped left and right from bullet wound. An explosion erupted below; a man emerged from the smoke on fire. He ran screaming until somebody from ZAFT's side put him down.

A woman wearing an orange Morganroete mechanic's jumpsuit hollered his name. She ducked down before a shot was put through her. She popped up to let loose a few shots and kept on running. She squeezed the trigger to lay down cover fire on the ZAFT soldiers to keep them busy. A red suited man and his green friend dove behind a box to avoid the hot lead pattering at their feet.

The woman's feet kept moving, carrying her to a huge shape lying prone on the flatbed of a semi truck. The humanoid lumbering shape was awe inspiring, commanding and grand, gleaming like a polished statue of an obsidian carved statue of an Olympian god. The machine more than a mobile suit, it was a symbol of strength, defiance, and liberation. The five G-Weapon prototypes were the answer to ZAFT's own monstrous GINN and daunting CGUE. No more would ZAFT dominate the battlefield with their seemingly godly weapons of mass terror. Divine inspiration was on the side of the Earth now.

_Or..._ Murrue Ramius thought grimly. _That's the way things were suppose to be. _Their aspirations for bringing this war to a swift close felt as far away as it did when ZAFT first unleashed their powers over nuclear energy on the world below them. When the power on her block went out, she chose not to loot and plunder like the rest of her neighbors. She thought she had the moral upper hand then. Now she wasn't sure her high horse was so tall anymore. Times like these she wondered if she was better off back home being a teacher. Dealing with school kids who weren't armed seemed much more fulfilling right now.

Murrue let her assault rifle hang by its shoulder strap when she climbed the ladder up the side of truck. Her former plan originally was composed of her and several of her comrades taking the trucks and hightailing it for the _Archangel's _hidden construction bay half a kilometer away on the western side of the factory district. Now she could imagine Lewis quoting his random bits of wisdom at her.

_"The best laid plans seldom survive the chaos of actual battle."_

"Ugh..." She grunted at thought. She wished her Westpoint instructor was wrong for once. _Keep moving! _She yelled at herself. A handy piece of advice originally imparted to her by her drill sergeant. Why was it council given to her by her own sex always appeared to be much more helpful?

She pulled herself to the top of the platform. Murrue crouched low and swiftly ran. She climbed up the fuselage, diving behind the cockpit's high main hatch. She heard fire ricochet off the steel frame she made her cover. If she didn't pry the hatch open posthaste, there's no doubt ZAFT would flank her. Simple enough... She had the--

"FATHER!" A voice furious with anguish echoed off the factory walls. "I KNOW YOU BETRAYED US ALL!"

Murrue acted totally on instinct. She immediately pointed the source. _Above!_ Her mind hollered for her to defend herself. She kills now or loses everything! Everything her comrades had strived to achieve, all she held dear, the promise she'd made with _him_. She aimed and fired, a streaming hail of lead flashed from her rifle's muzzle.

"Get down!"

Four people standing on the catwalk several meters above her hit the floor. The spray she fired a second ago passed over their heads harmlessly. Murrue gaped when she saw their young faces. She'd almost killed civilians... They were children aged no more than the teenagers she used to teach in her History class. The soldiers she was fighting were the same exact age, but these individuals were different. They were possibly students at the technical college they'd made for their base of operations.

"How did they get in here?" Murrue thought out loud. Whatever the case, security was sleeping on the job. She got a shock when she got a look at one of their faces. The boy's face was thick with growth, but still recognizable. It all made perfect sense... The cyber attack they defended against a week ago fit with his MO. She never in her wildest dreams would ponder her best friend's baby brother being capable of such a thing. That was then... Now the eccentric computer geek she knew looked very different. Ken DiFalco was grizzled, and looked very capable. Of what she didn't want to imagine...

Ken barked at the other three people who were with him. The first, a boy with short brown hair, simply nodded. The second male with messy black hair seemed not to agree with Ken's sentiment. Ken didn't respond. He ran off as far as his genetically enhanced legs could carry him. Murrue could see Ken running off into the other end of the factory. That side... Kato's side of the facility was not safe. The old kook never let anyone enter his territory without special clearance. Doctor Kato didn't trust his work to outsiders. People he especially viewed as capable he let in.

Murrue wasn't on the guest's list. Admiral Lewis Haliburton visited Kato once to see where his funding was going. When her mentor returned from the mad scientist's lab, Murrue asked what the hell Kato was doing in there. The admiral was rather tight lipped about the entire affair. He left Murrue wondering by simply saying his piece of the G-Unit project was "ground breaking." The very face of mobile suit combat itself would be changed by whatever Kato did behind closed doors.

Murrue wasn't concerned about mad scientists. She was more worried about Falcon getting himself in more trouble than he could handle. "Ken!" She cried out. Her voice was drowned out by the gunfire buzzing overhead. She hissed foul curses and blind fired back out of pure frustration.

She hoped she got a single one of the bastards in the head.

---

"I told you to open the goddamn door!" Daisuke spat venomously. He kicked the shelter's glass partition hard. He cursed the guys who decided to make it shatter proof. He wondered how well it would hold up against his sword. He was really in the mood right now to kill the asshole he was arguing with over intercom.

_"And I told you we don't got anymore room left, douche bag! We're all filled to capacity, can't 'cha get that through your thick skull!?" _The voice snapped back at him. The male voice's bad Brooklyn accent offended his very sensibilities. Who the hell did he know who spoke like that? Daisuke swore to several deities at once he'd remember the name when he was choking him to death.

"You look here, guido! Me and my friends here are going to die unless you open this tin can up!" Daisuke's dark brow twitched angrily. He gestured animated towards his friends. Kira waited behind him supporting a listless Cagalli. This whole mess had her out of it... Her father's supposed involvement being the main factor. She shrieked out the last bit of energy when she collapsed onto the factory floor. Her once vibrant golden brown eyes were empty of their normal soul and replaced by conflict.

He was pained to see her in this state. The sooner they were out of here, the sooner Cagalli would be back to her normal self. With Falcon gone... Daisuke was the single person who could get them to safety. Ken had actually had entrusted their lives to Kira._ ...Who the hell made Falcon leader to begin with!? _Daisuke's thoughts were fiery. He could see it boiling in his ruby eyes reflected by the glass door. _I can get us out of here! No frickin' problem!_

_"And risk ZAFT gettin' in here?" _The voice snorted. "_Sorry, pal. You're SOL here. Go find another shelter!"_

"This guy's pissing me off..." Daisuke said furiously. He took his finger off the intercom button and turned to Kira. "Let's tear this thing--"

Kira sighed. He leaned forward, pressing the button to speak with the man in charge. "Listen, please sir..." He explained in the most pathetic tone he could muster. "I apologize for my friend. He's really having a bad day today..."

"That's an understatement..." Daisuke grumbled disdainfully. Kira glared at him to shut up. He'd never seen Kira wear that look before.

"It's me, my friend here, and a girl I just met!" Kira exclaimed. He was really digging for sympathy here. "Please just take her! We'll find another shelter!"

A pause. There was some muttering between several voices on the other side of the line. _"What kinda dame?"_

Kira blinked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

_"Nothin'..."_ The voice replied innocently. _"Jus' send her on down and you can be on your way." _A light above the door flickered from red to green. An elevator slid smoothly into place in the shaft. The glass door separating the two sides hissed open.

"Okaaaay..." Daisuke enunciated. "There's no way in hell we're sending Cagalli in there."

"Yeah..." Kira agreed wholeheartedly. "I think we'll find another escape pod. Thanks!"

_"C'mooon."_ The intercom encouraged them. _"Don't you want your friend to be safe?"_

Daisuke didn't want to admit it, but the perverted voice had a point. They couldn't carry rag doll Cally around and expect to make it out alive. "Hey, Guido..." Daisuke had a realization. "You're one of Keijiro's boys? Charles, right?"

_"Huh?"_ The voice was confused for a moment. _"It ain't Charles... It's Charlie! How the hell do know my name? And how d'ya know the boss?"_

"You don't recognize my voice when you hear it, Charlie boy...?" Daisuke asked slowly. His voice changed... It became silky and devious. Kira thought Daisuke sounded rather sinister. He imagined it coming from the lips of a criminal, a murderer like Hannibal Lecter. He took a step back. Kira decided to let Daisuke handle it...

_"M-Mister S-Sable!?"_ Charlie stammered. He lost all traces of the fake accent. _"I, I'm sorry, sir!" _He said rigidly, properly. He was scared... As if Daisuke were going to reach through the intercom and perhaps strangle him. _"I didn't have a clue that was you! If I knew it was you I never would have acted so crass!"_

"You should be..." 'Mister Sable' said with disgust. "You should always treat your betters with the proper respect. Now you listen to me, Charlie boy." Daisuke continued seriously. There was an edge of threat to his tone. "Treat the young lady I'm leaving in your care with the same respect you pay me. Other wise... There will be consequences the next time we cross paths. Got it?"

_"Yessir!"_ Charlie said immediately. _"I completely understand!"_

Daisuke smiled slightly. He looked over to Cagalli, putting a soft hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Cagalli." He said gently. Daisuke gingerly shook her awake. She gradually broke out of stupor.

The Cagalli he knew was back already. "What the hell are you doing?!" She violently pushed Kira off of her. She frowned at the looks they were giving her.

"What're you two looking at?" Cagalli demanded.

Daisuke smiled boyishly. He pulled something out of his school bag and shoved it into her hands. "This is for you."

Cagalli stared at him puzzled. "Why're you giving me this weird thing...?" She looked down on the mask she had in her grasp. The elaborately made dark metal mask was cold against her fingers. It gazed back at her through detached darker than black opaque eyes. The mask sneered unpleasantly with fangs bared.

"You'll need it where you're going..." Daisuke said simply. He quickly grabbed her, and shoved her into the elevator. He didn't leave any time for goodbyes when he punched the button for the door to close. The glass door whooshed shut, whisking her away to safety. Her well being was all that mattered to him.

_Objective achieved..._ He felt a partial weight lifted off his shoulders. He recalled he wasn't out of the woods yet. _Now for the hard part..._

He tapped the intercom button again. "Tell me..." He slipped back into his creepy voice. "Where's the nearest shelter located?"

_"M-Mister Sable! I thought you were already gone!" _Charlie panicked. He tried allayinghis worries. _"Don't worry, sir! The girl is down here! Safe and sound!"_

Daisuke rolled his eyes. "That's not what I'm asking... Listen closely this time. Where's the next shelter?"

_"Oh! Um..."_ He paused to check something. _"Shelter E-37 is the next block over!"_

"Thanks a bunch." Daisuke said gratefully. He wanted to emphasize a point. "One more thing before I go... Let me remind you. The lady Cagalli is in your care. If anything happens to her, it's your head meeting the pointy end of my close personal friend Asagiri. Remember... No matter what happens or what she says, you're her meat shield, Charles In Charge."

Charles started to speak up only to be cut off by a familiar angry voice. "What do you think you're doing?" Cagalli demanded. He could hear the worry dripping off her voice. As touching as it was for him to hear that from her, Daisuke knew he couldn't stay to argue. He took off in a run and Kira followed after him. He had the feeling he'd have to explain somethings after they got to safety.

They found themselves on the catwalk hanging above the battle torn factory floor again. Daisuke didn't take the time to watch the chaos going on down below. He kept running and encouraged Kira to keep his head low. The training bound in Daisuke's muscles took over. He kept aware of his surroundings. He knew in the back of his mind if he didn't keep his mind in the game... people would die.

Suddenly, Kira's voice rang out. "Look! Above you!"

Daisuke's head shot up to find a red clad commando standing on the floor above them, nasty looking sniper rifle in hand. He wasn't taking aim at them, thankfully. There was no cause for alarm yet. A shot sounded off, smashing into the helmeted ZAFT soldier's visor. Daisuke could see the life leaving his body. As if boneless, the man fell forward over the balcony and landed hard in a twisted heap on floor below.

"Hey, you kids! Come down here!"

Daisuke looked down the catwalk's grate and saw a woman standing on the fuselage of the new mobile weapon. She had chestnut brown shoulder length hair that framed face holding brown eyes. She might have been quite attractive if it wasn't for the killer look on her face and the intimidating assault rifle she held in her hands. This set off alarms in Daisuke's mind.

Kira obviously didn't share Daisuke's wariness. "Don't worry about us!" Kira hollered back. "We're heading for the shelters a block over!"

The older woman shook her head. She fingered her rifle. "There's nothing back there. Nothing but smoke and fire! We're moving out!"

Smoke billowed from the block to Kira's left. What the lady said was true... Still, Daisuke didn't trust her. "C'mon, Kira!" He called after his friend. He kept a cautious eye on the armed 'factory worker'. "Don't listen to her! We can find another lifeboat!"

Kira was on a completely different wavelength. He swiftly catapulted himself from the catwalk onto the mobile suit's chest fifteen feet below. The jump might've been of Olympic quality if it weren't for the sloppy landing. It was a feat that might have left an untrained Natural injured or perhaps worse off.

Daisuke might have admired Kira's agility if it were for the situation. He silently cursed under his breath. It was this moment Daisuke made a snap decision of his own. He bolted for the way Falcon took minutes earlier.

In more ways than one... Kira and Daisuke's paths would diverge.


	3. GUNDAM Rising

**Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Fated Shift**

**Chapter Three: GUNDAM Rising**

Kira Yamato's mind was racing. There was no way this could be true. No way this could be real. Kira waited for somebody to pinch him. Tolle's usual rude awakening never came. The heat he felt from the fire blazing around him reminded him how palpable his situation was. He was in the hell of the harsh world's own making. A world at war for its own petty reasons had blown its way into his sanctuary and sent it into kingdom come.

He witnessed something just now his mind couldn't or simply didn't want to comprehend. He saw his best friend of more than a decade looming over him, holding a knife of curved shape. Its serrated edge cried for his life blood. Even though his face was shaded by his helmet's visor, he could still see the horror carved into his young features. The blazing inferno reflecting off his visor made his jade green eyes look like they were on fire. He was wrapped in red like some of his other comrades. Yet, he seemed to stick out more than the other reds he saw. The parts of his suit that weren't red were punctuated by grey trim. Those parts were red too... With the blood of his enemies.

Kira's mind flickered with frightening thoughts. Why was Athrun here? How many people had he killed? He had so many questions and none of the answers he came up with made any sense. None of this was in Athrun's character. The Athrun Zala he knew hated the very idea of violence. If a fly landed on his shoulder, he wouldn't swat at it. Athrun would shoo it away. The person he saw before him wasn't Athrun Zala.

Reality proved him wrong again. Athrun took a step back. Gaping in shock at what he was seeing. He whispered hoarsely at the other boy. "Kira..."

Kira continued to stare back at him, his purple eyes wide as saucers. He felt his jaw go as limp as Athrun's. His lips simply imparted a single, solitary word. "Athrun..."

The frozen tableau was ended by the crack of gunfire. The wounded Murrue Ramius hadn't caught a single fraction of what was happening. Her head was swimming in pain burning through her right shoulder. She pushed through it back into lucidity. Back into the violence swirling around her. She ripped her side arm from its holster and whipped it at the scarlet red soldier. Her shots were off by a wide margin.

They didn't need to be on target. A single shot was enough to ward him off. He bounded off the fuselage, aided by the ignition of his jetpack. Murrue grunted at the pain shooting through her body as she lifted herself from the floor. She stood on her own two feet and leaned over on the console by the cockpit hatch. With a quick series of numbers punched in, the hatch split open languidly liked the jaws of a great beast.

Murrue didn't wait a moment. She knocked the oblivious teenager into the cockpit with all she had. She didn't miss a beat, Murrue followed after him into the rabbit hole. Neither of them knew the future of Humanity was falling into their hands.

Inside the mobile suit, motors flared and gears turned with determination. This interaction between metal, hardware, software, and the human will itself caused something astounding to occur. Against its bonds, the mobile suit thrashed. The titan had slept for too long to be denied its freedom. Science may've given it birth, but it lacked the essential part to make it move by its own power.

It lacked will of its own. The component all life is handed at conception. Now it possessed a heart in its core. A human heart resolved to make her comrades' dream a reality. Now their baby was here, tearing against the bonds of death that weighed it down. No one could stop it. Not the fires consuming the warehouse. Not the unaware mono-eyed machines parading around like they'd already won.

They hadn't won yet. The battle was far from over. The X-105 Strike proved them all wrong by moving. Metal twisted and snapped into brittle pieces. Free of its imprisonment, it took its first steps out of the fire and into the chaotic universe.

From the cockpit of his GINN, Miguel Aiman watched with morbid interest when the Morganroete facility went up in a ball of super-heated gases. He grinned to himself. The two humongous humanoid shapes emerging from the smoke were a good sign. He felt a good bit of pride for the two boys. As he'd predicted, Rusty and Athrun were turning out to be excellent soldiers.

He knew it from the time he sat in on one of their lessons at the ZAFT Keypoint Naval Institute. Miguel was there scouting out possible candidates for the Le Creuset team. He was impressed by both boys. Particularly Athrun... He was there personally see him take down one of his old instructors in a sparring match. Fred the Knife, as his graduating class had dubbed him, was an expert in the field of close quarters combat. He also was known for being a wizard with a knife. Not just in the kitchen either. When Fred attacked with a knife, he did so with deadly efficiency.

Miguel still had nightmares from the time Fred threw one of his knives his way. He almost took his ear off. Miguel shivered. Good thing Fred was nice enough to miss on purpose.

Miguel's reverie was broken by the crackling of his radio_. "Come in, Miguel."_ He recognized the voice on the other end as Athrun.

He keyed the radio, a victorious smirk coming onto his lips. "Great work out there, man. You really kicked some ass. When we get home, remind me to buy ya-"

_"Miguel..."_ Athrun interrupted him. His new mobile suit landed a few hundred yards away from Miguel's GINN. Aegis, as Miguel would've put it, was one sweet ride. The frame was much different than the other G-Weapons. It was much more angular and sharper looking. Miguel thought he might cut himself if he were to so much as touch one of its many jagged corners.

_"Rusty is dead..." _Athrun told him grimly. He sensed the barely contained anger in the red pilot's voice. "_He died trying to commandeer the other remaining mobile weapon. There's an Earth Forces officer piloting it... The very same one who killed him."_

"What?" Miguel choked. "Rusty?"

"Yes..." Athrun bit his lip then nodded slowly. Rusty was the most optimistic out of the five reds in their little outfit. He'd been friends with him since before they joined in on the war effort. They'd met in one of the classes they had together at the technical college. When he lost his mom, Rusty was there for him. Lifting his spirits and trying to convince him there was always a better day waiting for him tomorrow.

Now Athrun wasn't so sure there was. First Rusty was dead... And Kira. He wasn't sure what to make of what happened. Kira was supposed to be on the moon, not in the middle of an illegal Earth Alliance run facility. Kira couldn't have any part in this Earth plot, could he?

"Leave this to me, Athrun! You get back to the ship!" Miguel barked. His face twisted with rage. He wasn't going to let Rusty's murderer leave unpunished. Miguel's sensors already had picked up a heat signature. They beeped hurriedly. He responded in kind by tapping several commands into the GINN's control console. Cameras zoomed in and centered on a specific target. The gunmetal humanoid steel frame of the renegade Earth Forces machine stumbled into view.

Quite literally. Miguel's killing intent was almost washed away by this hilarious moment. The mobile suit was barely able to stand its own weight. It walked around like a drunken sailor on shore leave coming off a bad acid trip. It tilted over at an odd angle, almost tripping itself several times. The mecha caught itself before it embarrassed itself and crushed a few tiny civilians skittering around.

Miguel sniggered. "What a joke... I can't believe somebody like you killed Rusty."

The vernier of the green mass produced machine fired up. It flew high into the sky then killed the power to its forceful boosters; Sending Miguel into a dead drop. He landed in the path of the klutzy mobile weapon. Miguel wordlessly raised his rifle. A spray of tank piercing rounds pocked the ground. Miguel was purposely missing. He considered killing the bastard on principle, but that was too easy. He wanted to embarrass him. Make him regret the moment he decided to join the opposing force. Rue the day he took away the future of a promising young soldier like Rusty.

"You don't deserve to use Rusty's mobile suit!" Miguel roared. Throwing his machine gun aside, he brandished the GINN's huge broadsword. He charged forward, thundering his guttural battle cry. The sword crashed against the enemy suit's shoulder armor...

Metal cried in agony and sparks flew. The last thing Miguel ever expected to occur. The mobile suit's reflective steel chassis suddenly changed color. Its breastplate shone sky blue with a tinge of red blazing down the middle. It's suddenly gleaming white hands caught the blade between them.

Miguel cursed. No letting himself be over taken by unexpected events, he pressed forward. He put all the power he had into knocking his opponent over. "A color change ain't gonna save you, bastard!" He pushed him away and into a building. Almost demolishing it in the process. Miguel didn't let up. He stormed at the G-Weapon again, aiming to plunge his sword into the cockpit.

Miguel couldn't believe his eyes. His sword harmlessly scraped along the enemy's chest, not so much as leaving an indentation behind. He was speechless. He had no words to describe how angry he was. How frustrated he was. He simply kept pounding on the mobile suit again and again.

"Miguel, stop!" Athrun shouted. He'd been watching the entire time. He never would tell Miguel why he hadn't gone back yet. While it was for sure he was worried for his comrade, he was even more afraid over who was in the X-105's cockpit. "He's got Phase Shift Armor!"

Miguel didn't seem to be listening. He would pay for it...

The Strike's heavy crash threw Kira over the seat the back of the pilot's seat and into the lap of Earth Alliance Lieutenant Senior Grade Murrue Ramius. His face accidentally burrowed its way into her ample bosoms. Kira Yamato knew gravity wasn't his friend right now.

"Get outta the way! Do you want to die?" Murrue shouted, absolutely livid. Kira didn't want to know which she was madder over. The accidental groping or getting in the way of the battle.

S-sorry!" Kira stammered, turning a shade or two redder. He moved back behind the seat. Tolle would've said he was a lucky man. Under the circumstances, luck wasn't on his side.

Kira looked to Strike's many monitors. He screamed bloody murder when he saw the GINN raise its weapon again.

"Can you stow it!" Murrue hollered. She winced at the shaking caused by the GINN's repeated blows. She took a deep breath to calm herself. She was sure she was fine for the time being. Phase Shift was guaranteed to be impervious to the physical offenses of the GINN. Even then, Murrue was skeptical of anything Kato promised. There was no way Phase Shift could stay on forever. During the tests, she saw how fast Kato's 'invincible armor' drained power under strenuous circumstances.

Murrue hastily clicked a button on the motion controls. The Strike's head vulcans responded by being totally off on their aim. It's streaming anti air fire went off the side harmlessly. The GINN wasn't bothered in the slightest by Murrue's pathetic distraction.

Murrue cursed vilely. She was starting to feel woozy again. The adrenaline in her system was barely keeping up with the dripping crimson wound she received minutes ago courtesy of ZAFT. She could still feel the pain in her system telling her she needed help now. Like she needed to be told that. She already knew she was boned. Figuratively and literally. When power returned to zero, Phase Shift's colorful augmentation vanished. Then the skewering would commence...

To think her last bit of intimacy would be accidental... Murrue really wished she hadn't quit smoking. Because, in her final moments, she needed a light.

Kira's blood ran cold. The cold feeling in his chest caused his entire world to freeze. His entire life flashed before his eyes. He remembered everything in his life that had any bearing on him. His parents introducing to Athrun for the first time. The years he grew up with Athrun by his side the entire time. Tears he'd been unable to hold back when he learned his best friend in the entire world was leaving him for the PLANT Homeland. Athrun offered a reassuring smile and a gift, telling him confidently they'd meet again. Those didn't stop him from shedding more tears.

He named affectionately the gift Birdy. The memento and time helped stifle his loneliness. He moved away from Copernicus to Heliopolis and made new friends. They were good to him, but it still wasn't the same as the kindness his brother showed him. No matter how many friends he made, their compounded friendship couldn't equal the bond he shared with Athrun Zala.

Now he was here, in this moment. Death on his front step. He feared for his life, the lives of his friends below, and even the life of woman who saved his life. Something snapped inside Kira then. An emotion he'd never experienced before. The want... No, the need to protect shook his soul and the bones that held his fragile corporeal existence together.

He shoved Murrue's hands away from the controls. "Hey!" Murrue snapped. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Getting us out of here alive." Kira replied simply. He was already fiddling around with the computer. He brought up the operating systems settings in a flash. "This OS is crap..." He complained more to himself than Murrue. A disapproving grimace crossed Kira's young features. "No wonder this thing moves so awkwardly! My little eight year old cousin could program an OS better than this!"

"This isn't the finished product!" Murrue replied defensively. Why was she arguing with a kid? There was no way he understood the true complexity of what she did. "It's still in the trial stages!"

"Aw, just..." He bit his tongue. A shouting match would get them nowhere at this rate. He took a calming breath. "Just get out of the way, please!" He failed to sound kind in his request. "Now!" He barked at her. He was surprised a military woman like her backed off so easily. She slid behind the seat with a look of defeat. Kira supposed it was the blood loss more than anything else.

Plopping himself into the driver's seat, he manipulated the controls. "Back off!" Strike's hand lashed out, parrying the GINN's next slash. Metal screeched against metal. Sparks were produced by their quick clash. The next punch Kira threw slugged the enemy directly in the face. The GINN fell staggered backwards and fell onto its shiny metal ass. Kira used this unguarded moment to put some distance between them.

His fingers furiously danced away on the keyboard. He muttered all the steps he remembered from Kato's sessions and the tutoring sessions Daisuke had given him. Daisuke's part was bit strange, the OS he'd taught Kira was the standard type for the ZGMF-1017 GINN. Kira thought it cause for suspicion. He did live in the PLANTs, so he may have been in ZAFT at one point.

Whatever the case, Daisuke had a lot to answer for if... Once he got out this hairball. He'd kept his nose out of Daisuke's business up to this point because he respected his privacy. There'd been rumors... Rather ugly rumors about Daisuke and Keijiro when they'd taken up residence in Heliopolis. Kira wasn't inclined to believe in gossip. Daisuke seemed nice enough of a person, despite his poor choices in friends and occasional bouts of aggressive driving. Miriallia knew him too. From a life before Heliopolis... They'd briefly dated when they were younger. She babysat his younger cousins and he helped out when he popped in from time to time.

Miriallia never went into much detail. He never pressed the issue. Never much around Tolle, anyway. Miriallia didn't want Tolle getting jealous. Jealous over what? Kira didn't have the time to get into it. Kato, as always, ate up whatever little free time Kira Yamato had.

Again, time never wanted to be on his side. The GINN he'd knocked aside before was back on its feet, thundering down the street brandishing its titanic sword. Kira sped up his typing to an inhuman level. The screen before him flashed bright blue, telling him his OS was one hundred percent complete. If this was a less serious situation, Kira would've let his lips curl into a superior smile. This was the fastest time he'd taken to write an operating system. Less than sixty seconds... His personal best prior was fifty-eight seconds.

The GINN's thrusters belched fire, propelling its amazingly huge frame forward. It brought up its sword yet again. Miguel was intent on thrusting it straight into the Strike's face. Kira was more than prepared for his enemy's attack. Kira deftly ducked under it and like a boxer he socked the GINN hard in its helmet shaped head. Rocked by the attack, it stumbled backwards. Crashing into a building previously unharmed by ZAFT's initial assault. Its frame cracked and faltered under the GINN's weight. Within seconds it fell away, engulfing the mobile suit in its rubble.

"Miguel!" Athrun cried out, shocked to the core by the sudden turn of the battle. How could a mobile suit go from stumbling new born to a noticeable threat in an instant? No Natural should've been capable of such an amazing feat. Unless Kira was... No, Athrun couldn't jump to conclusions so soon. Not until he had undeniable proof it was him behind the controls. The alarms in his mobile suit's went off, warning him of an impending threat. His displays showed him anti air craft missiles barreling down on him.

Athrun didn't feel panic, not in the slightest. His training took over his body and turned him into something. Athrun never knew how define the soothing calm running through his body when violent situations arouse. He never liked the idea of using violence to solve problems. However, he knew a lot of things couldn't be brought to a desirable conclusion by simply talking things out. If it were easily done, Naturals and Coordinators would've come to an understanding a long time ago.

Athrun never let the missiles near him. He fired off the Aegis' head vulcans, prompting the enemy fire to prematurely explode in showy display midair. Athrun quickly discerned the missles' source. There was a pair of artillery trucks not three hundred plus yards away. They were a part of the colony's self-defense army. Nothing about Orb's neutral status would help them.

Athrun quickly clicked the trigger. In a single moment, both trucks were swallowed by flames. They were of no concern to him or anyone else now. He turned back to support Miguel. By now, his friend's GINN dug itself out of its premature grave. He could hear Miguel seething over the radio. "Goddammit, Athrun! I told you I could handle this! Get your ass out of here! The stuff you're handling here is important shit!"

"Alright..." He hesitantly agreed. Athrun didn't want to leave Miguel here by himself. Not when the single enemy controlled G-Weapon showed so much skill. He felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach. Especially when his childhood friend could be the one threatening the safety of one of his comrades. Athrun didn't want to be forced to make the choice between them.

Aegis' thrusters went off... Athrun left the battlefield hoping for the best.

Miguel smirked. One of the most important mission objectives had been met. Now all he had to do was capture or destroy the remaining Earth Forces mobile weapon. More likely destroy. There was no way he'd let this guy get away scott free. Not when he suffered so much embarrassment at its hands. Miguel charged again, this time grabbing up his rifle. He fired at the Strike wildly, and it responded by dodging every single one of its shows.

The way it danced around him mocked him. Smeared his very reputation as the Bullet of Dusk. Miguel got even angrier. The enemy dared to do this mock him, and kill his friends. Miguel wouldn't let this stand! He didn't care how many people died in the process! This guy was going down!

Kira stared into the monitor horrified. He saw Miriallia, Tolle, Sai, and Kuzzey below him trying desperately to get out of the line of fire. Kira clenched the Strike's controls. He was determined now. Determined to stop the carnage, Kira led the GINN away from his friends. He took off into the air with the aid of his verniers. The GINN was quick to follow after him. It was quick to unleash its fire on him at point blank. It bounced off his multicolored armor harmlessly.

Kira fed more power into his thrusters. In return, it shot him up into the air even higher. He cut off the power and Newton's Law went into effect. His foot crashed into Miguel's GINN with astounding force. Coming down to terra firma, Miguel adjusted for his situation enough to land on his feet. The landing wasn't perfect, but what was? If he'd reached for perfection, he wouldn't have been off balance.

Kira hit the ground running, heading on a b-line for the disoriented Miguel. In flurry of fingers, Kira hit the various buttons in search of something he could use against him. He brought up the weapon's menu, and saw a single weapon type. "Combat knives?" Kira hollered, frustrated over his lack of resources. "Is that all there is?"

Miguel started to regain his bearings. He saw the Strike reaching down into its overhanging hip armor. It opened up on both sides, producing a pair of knives. They flipped up like a switchblade, and viciously shone in the midday sun. The Strike was within reach of him. His reflexes weren't fast enough to draw his sword.

Kira roared. He'd never felt this type of rush before. The stress of the situation was bearing down on him like he was Miguel. The twin Armor Schneider's sharp edges met with the GINN's neck and right shoulder joints. He plunged them in as far as they could go. Flames spouted from its internal electrical systems.

Ordinarily, nobody would've thought of going for such specific weak points. Kira had an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of machines. Looking for them in a routine inspection was one thing. Hitting those dead on in a mobile weapon on mobile weapon battle was another thing all together. It was almost like preforming open heart surgery a successful in the middle of a house fire. It should've been impossible.

Murrue Ramius stared at Kira as if he'd grown another head. Kira looked back at her quizzically. He's never seen any look at him with that type of fear. That kind of Reverence.

Miguel couldn't believe it himself. He was incapable of it. There was no chance of it being remotely possible. Miguel cursed at the immobile machine's unresponsive controls. This piece of crap wasn't his machine. His real machine was back on the Vesalius still undergoing repairs. If he has custom job, this fight would've turned out differently.

Miguel had to except his losses and get out fast. Dying wasn't a part of the mission parameters. Of course... That didn't mean somebody other than him couldn't die in the process. A cruel smile crossed his features. He flicked a few switches and smashed open a console. A switch marked 'self-destruct' showed itself. Miguel didn't leave a moment to indecision. The countdown was already ticking away.

"Burn bitch..." Miguel sneered. "Burn!"

"Wait..." Kira piped up. Watching the GINN's cockpit fall open on the monitor, he saw a figure wrapped in dark green jump out. The jetpack strapped to his back propelled him away from the blast zone. Murrue didn't get a chance to warn Kira before the GINN exploded. A hot wind blew across the city scape. Over turning cars, and sending them careening into buildings. The small restaurant Kira and his friends sometimes hung out at on their off days was one such place. The office building where Tolle's dad worked down the street on the corner of Tannenbalm Avenue and Macy Street had its window's shattered by the force of the blast.

The peaceful life Kira knew would cease to be. He'd never again walk the same streets with his friends and family. His innocence was soon to follow the same demise.

Kira painstakingly made an effort to open up his eyes. His world spun at a topsy-turvy pace. His head hurt. Like a bomb had exploded in his face. Wait, one just did. He took several moments to get himself settled. He realized he was still alive. He silently thanked several invisible forces for small miracles. Gravity was not one of them. Gravity was the reason he was in this situation. If there hadn't been any gravity in the factory, he would've shot up to the ceiling instead of falling to see Athrun. His stupid choices in the heat of the moment were truly to blame. He wasn't ready to accept his own idiocy yet.

Kira looked around. Everything was fine as far as the internal instruments went. He was unharmed... He thanked the maker of the safety harness. Whoever the heck that was. Now for the woman he was regretting listening to. "Um... Miss?" Kira looked over his shoulder. He wasn't too surprised to find her knocked out cold huddled up in a corner behind his seat. Kira knew asking if she was okay wasn't going to help any. Best he could possibly do for her was finding a safe place for them to set up camp. Kira absently wondered if there was such a place in the middle of a war.

High above Kira and the Strike, Morinobu Sanada watched with great amusement. A twisted smile grew on his lips. He watched the entirety of Miguel's fight against the remaining rogue unit. The thought of maybe aiding him crossed his mind for an instant. He just as quickly dismissed it. Miguel was a professional and an ace pilot. He could handle himself. So Morinobu thought...

The Strike turned the tide of battle in unreal time; making a fool out of one of ZAFT's best. Whoever this pilot was... He was a skilled one, far superior to the likes of Miguel. Was he a well-trained Natural using a customized OS or a Coordinator Natural sympathizer? First was unlikely... He found no such Natural compatible OS in the G-Weapon he took for himself. Maybe it wasn't entirely impossible. There was always the possibility of them only having enough time to upload it into a single machine. The Coordinator option seemed to be a more likely scenario. There were some Coordinators like Jean Carry who decided to serve for whatever personal reasons they had.

Morinobu couldn't know for sure. The smile plastered on his face tightened. "What do you say we ask him ourselves, Mara?"

Behind him in the co-pilot's seat, a young woman sat. Her vibrant orange eyes carefully watched her personal displays. Like most ZAFT soldiers, she looked no more than a teenager. Aged somewhere between sixteen and eighteen. Her short black hair was mostly hidden by the equally black helmet protecting her head. Like Mori she also wore a completely black flightsuit. Her lips parted to offer her monotonous words. She never tore her eyes from the displays. "Whatever..."

He chuckled. She was as non-committal as always. That's one of things he loved about his partner. He grinned wildly. He pressed several different buttons and flicked several switches on his console. The machine they piloted was a G-Unit made separate from the others. A special type made by the famous Doctor Kato himself. He was fortunate enough to procure one for himself. Kato's second prototype had to be abandoned in the fire, unfortunately. It was an acceptable enough loss as long as the Grimaldi Falcon burned with it.

He had no clue what he was doing here in Heliopolis of all places. Maybe he'd finally snapped and decided to turn against his own people. Not that it mattered. The Traitor was dead now. Morinobu guaranteed it himself. He set the factory ablaze with the Phoenix's full complement of missiles.

The Strike was next on his hit list. He raised his G-Weapon's beam rifle and fired. A beam of incandescent death escaped the muzzle. It burned the air, going straight for the Strike's cockpit.

Alarms blared above Kira's head. He knew what that meant. He ignited the verniers and threw himself to the side. The green dart missed him by merely meters. It melted through a building right next to the Strike's former position. The building's supports melted into liquid nothing causing it to collapse under its own weight. Clouds of dust and dirt kicked up in the wake of its destruction.

It covered up the Strike's retreat. Kira knew how to take an opportunity when it presented itself. He got out of there while he still could.

Morinobu himself couldn't be fooled so easily. "Mara!" He exclaimed.

"On it!" She returned. She fired up the Phoenix's enhanced scouting sensors. The Strike picked on her screen as a multi-colored humanoid silhouette. "The heat sensors detect the enemy mobile suit seventy meters on the right!"

"Excellent!" Morinobu crowed. Raining even more particle death on Kira. Buildings, cars, people hiding among the havoc all vanished in a moment of unspeakable heat. Kira with all his skill evaded. He wasn't sure how much longer he could avoid certain death.

Morinobu followed Kira, no matter where Kira managed to go. Bringing hot death on him at an unceasing interval. Morinobu was starting to get frustrated by his constant evasions.

"Why don't you just stay still and DIE?" He roared. Mara herself never missed a beat. She kept feeding him more information as more and more. Dust kicked up in the aftermath of their shots. By now, she imagined the city being Swiss cheese. She kept her amusement to herself. Truthfully, she didn't really care how much Morinobu tore up Heliopolis. The colony deserved whatever fate it had in store. Not because the people cooperated with the Earth or even because they built these so called G-Weapons. For a quick moment, she realized she didn't have a reason. She just could care less about what happened.

She blinked. Her displays showed something strange. "Mori!" She hollered. "Above us, at 12 o'clock! Evade now!"

Three green lances came down on them from the sky above them. They managed to step out of the way before any of them had the chance to melt them down to paste. A fourth shot came in the wake of the trio and slammed into his beam rifle. Rendering it molten wreckage in the Phoenix's grasp. Morinobu threw it aside and snatched up a beam saber from in-between the Phoenix's wing binders. It ignited into a solid plasma blade that was bright red in color.

The Phoenix's formerly grey body lit up with color. Its limbs went crimson and its chest area instantly dyed itself black with a bit of red to accent certain points. The Phoenix's grand wings spread out, going dark crimson. In that very moment, it crashed against another mobile suit. Not a GINN or a CGUE, but another G-Weapon.

This new mobile weapon was not unlike the Strike in color. Rather than having the same shades, it had its own take on the color scheme. The mobile's torso blended in with the colony's bright blue sky. Its limbs were also sky blue with gold shining in its joints. It had a pair of stream lined shields on each arm. The difference being the one of the right sported a gigantic steel blade and what looked like a down sized beam rifle.

Plasma burned against the metal blade, sparking at the super-heated contact between them. The sword surprisingly did not melt at its touch. Morinobu nor Mara couldn't imagine what impossible materials went into forging that seemingly unbreakable sword.

"The Masamune! Don't tell me!" Morinobu snarled in absolute rage and disgust. He demanded answers. "Falcon! How did you survive?"

Inside the GAT-X100 Masamune's cockpit, Kenneth DiFalco allowed himself a ghost of a smirk. "Very simple, Amigo..." Falcon said flatly. "You shouldn't underestimate Natural craftsmanship. That and Phase Shift armor is very handy protection. Isn't that right, 'Kuro'?"

"Please don't get me started, Boss..." Behind the pilot's seat, Daisuke Ikari held on for dear life. He rolled his red eyes. "I did think up the G-Weapons... The first four, anyway."

Kira watched briefly on the Strike's monitor. He didn't know who was behind the wheel of that thing. He was sure if he ever found out who was, he knew he owed him more than a steak dinner.

He fired up the Strike's boosters again. He made sure he was long gone.

Everything fell back into place for Murrue Ramius. The voices she heard helped her swim against unconsciousness' strong current. She swam until her head finally broke head broke the dark waters. She opened her eyes... Blinking out the blurriness. She squinted at the brightness. She lifted her arm to block out the sunlight. In seeming denial of her order, a bolt of pain shot up her arm. She bit her lip. The pain's sharpness might've been enough to make a lesser woman yelp. She was made of a bit more than sugar, spice and everything nice.

A sigh of relief sounded off to her left. An unfamiliar teenage brunette girl leaned over her, blocking out the artificial sunlight. She smiled kindly at her. "I see you're finally awake, Miss Ramius. Are you feeling alright? Are you lightheaded or maybe dizzy?"

Murrue blinked. She sat up on the bench she was lying down on. She realized she was in a park not very far from Morganroete. She often walked around the park after work. It was her normal way of unwinding after a strenuous day of building the Earth Forces most top secret weapons.

The park would be filled with people enjoying nature. Now it was devoid of its normal vibrancy. Again, the war had disrupted peace. She felt her heart sink into her stomach. She had to end the war soon.

"Um... Miss Ramius?" The girl tried getting her attention. Murrue didn't even acknowledge her. Murrue looked at the Strike. Knelt down thirty feet away from her, colored its normal bland grey. The X-105 must've run out of power by now. That wasn't the cause for concern though. The teenage boys standing on the Strike were...

"Oh, man!" One of them, a brown haired boy sitting in the cockpit fiddling with the controls, crowed over it. "This this is so soooo awesome!"

"Totally, Tolle! Too bad this thing's run outta juice..." Another one, an Asian boy standing on the Strike's leg, complained. "I always wanted to get a shot at piloting a mobile suit."

"Me too, Kuzzey..." The third, a blonde boy wearing glasses standing next to the Asian, advised his friends. "But I don't think we should be playing with this. We don't know a thing about it. You saw that GINN Kira fought... A wrong button press could send us to kingdom come!"

The Asian boy the glasses wearing boy called Kuzzey winced. He took a step away from the cockpit. "Y-yeah, what Sai said...!" He stammered, nodding repeatedly. "You should seriously get out of there, Tolle!"

The boy Tolle snorted. Airily waving them off. "You guys are such scaredy cats! You both know you can't do anythin' with a mobile suit without any power! And ya call yourselves Doctor Kato's students? We literally live and breathe this stuff every day!"

On the ground, the boy she rescued from the factory scolded his friends. "C'mon you guys! Get down from there! The Strike's not a toy!"

Murrue was already half way towards the Strike. Miriallia was following after her, calling for her to not to move around too much. Murrue wasn't listening. Even if it was a group of school kids, she had to secure the Strike. For the sake of the mission, she was willing to do what it took.

"Get off that machine, right now!" Murrue ordered. Using her Drill Sargent voice. The boys didn't respond at first. "I told you to get off the X-105 now!"

"Who the heck are you, lady?" Sitting high and mighty like a newly minted King, Tolle challenged her.

"I'm Lieutenant Murrue Ramius with the Earth Alliance Forces..." She said coolly. Unclipping her pistol from her belt, she slowly raised it to aim for his head. "Believe I told you to get down from the X-105."

"Whoa, lady! There ain't any need for that!" Tolle raised his hands in surrender. A gun to the head was enough to convince him of her authority. He stepped out of the cockpit and climbed down the Strike's leg. The two other boys did the same.

"Now... Get in line, single file." She trailed her gun on them, gesturing for them to hurry it up. They did as asked. Each of the students lined up one after the other. She made sure they were at least ten feet away from the Strike. Murrue turned her back to it and came to face them. Her gun was at ready should they try anything funny.

"Your names, please..." Her harsh, commanding voice softened a tiny bit at the last word. She had issues with holding such young people captive. The pins and needles in her already impaled heart sank deeper into her core. In their faces, Murrue saw the students she left behind when she deployed. They were the same people she saw when a young ZAFT soldier's eyes became cold and vacant in their last moments of life. She pushed the sick feeling in her stomach down. Now wasn't the time to be feeling guilty.

Gesturing to each of them, the young college students divulged their identities.

"Miriallia Haw..."

"Sai Argyle."

"K-Kuzzey... Buskirk, M-m-m'am!"

"Tolle Koenig."

"...Kira Yamato."

Their faces screwed up at her. The back of her mind left out a chuckle. It was the same type of expression her students made when she dished out homework right before the holidays. The amusement left her when she laid her gaze on Kira. The angry, defiant look in his purple colored eyes reminded her who she was dealing with. A whisper of doubt ran through her mind. The ability he displayed piloting the Strike was insane. Almost _inhuman_. The boy had to be...

_No..._ She dismissed any preconceptions she had about the boy. Coordinator or not. She knew better. The young man had saved her life and nursed her from the edge of death. If he were the enemy, she never would have woken up ever again.

Murrue sighed. There wasn't any way school children could possibly have a clue of the real situation. She guessed she owed them an explanation. "As I said before, I am Lieutenant Murrue Ramius of the OMNI Earth Alliance Forces. You've seen our top secret weapon, so, I'm afraid I'll have to take you people into custody. I'll figure out what to do with you once I file a report with my superiors."

It wasn't much of a reason to vindicate her actions. Murrue couldn't tell them much more than this. Enough secrets were already unearthed. Knowing too much could get these poor kids locked up for the rest of their young lives. Or worse...

They clearly could look a gift horse in the mouth. Youth and its ignorance...

"Go where? Why?"

"What about our parents?"

"We don't have anything to do with the military, lady!"

"We're citizens of Orb; we're neutral!"

Her patience was already dangling by a thin thread. Some teacher she was. She fired a round into the air. "Enough!" She glared cold daggers at them. She watched as each of them recoiled. Miriallia hid behind Tolle, Tolle held her hand reassuringly, Kuzzey was ready to book it, and surprisingly Kira and Sai stood their ground. "Do you really believe this has nothing to do with you? That your state is truly neutral? I'll tell you kids some-"

"Um..." Tolle spoke up. "Miss Ramius."

"What?" She snapped. "I'm trying to make a point here!"

"Miss Ramius!" Miriallia shouted.

"Now you too..." Murrue growled and scowled deeply. She could see they were gazing at something behind her. What that was the Strike!

Murrue gasping in realization turned on her heel one hundred and eighty degrees. Murrue snapped up her pistol and fired at what she saw. The ZAFT soldier dressed in dark red climbing up the Strike's leg hit the ground hard. Not because she killed him... He really fell off. Murrue blinked. She didn't know how to describe what she just saw. She thought she'd try anyway. "You got scared and fell...?"

The soldier couldn't answer. He'd brained himself on the asphalt walkway. Whoever he was... He was out for the count.


	4. Death's Advance

**Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Fated Shift**

**Chapter Four: Death's Advance, a Hawk's Challenge, an Angel's Protection**

"I'm going out there, Captain! Tell Luke and Gail to board their Mobius!"

The man left the bridge before ship's skipper could so much as speak. The door hissed open without command. He grabbed a lever he found at the start of the hall. It instantly responded by dragging him with it. In zero gravity, he felt as if he were flying. He let go when it reached the far end. The momentum catapulted him down the corridor. He flew past the threshold of another automatically opening door. He stopped himself by putting a hand between himself and a group of lockers lined up against the room's long walls. He smiled to himself. Swift and accurate like always, he found himself at his locker. He tore it open and changed his clothes. Within the space of 45 seconds, he changed into his flightsuit. It was colored in three distinct colors: black and grey ran from his collar bone down to his shoes in a race of colors. The royal purple dominating the shoulders dripped down his to rule his sleeves. His grey colored gloves cradled his helm under his left arm. It was almost completely black except for the purple dying the helmet's crown. At the helm's pointed forehead was a pair of white feathers adorning either side.

Mu La Flaga shifted his crested helm over his handsome blonde head. It clicked into place… The Earth's Ace of Aces was ready for battle.

Hundreds of meters away on the Vesalius' bridge, Rau Le Creuset felt a familiar pressure in the underside of his mind. The slight bit of pleasure from his team's huge victory grew tenfold. His impassive expression was shattered by a feral smile. His teeth shone like knives. If the Heliopolis mobile weapons were the prize then this was his lightning round.

"C-c-commander…?" He looked down on Ades. He seemed to be a bit unnerved by Le Creuset's hungry smile. The killing intent rolled off the masked man in waves. He regained his composure. The calm, quiet Le Creuset was back again.

He frowned at his ship's captain. "What is it, Ades?"

"Sir…" Ades coughed into his hand. He spoke quietly. "The Aurora is coming back…" He hesitated. He almost seemed embarrassed to say it. "Olar says he was damaged in the fight against Alliance mobile armors. He managed to kill two before being damaged by a third unit. Reports say it's a Mobius Zero. Painted orange… I thought that…"

"Thank you, Ades…" Le Creuset raised a hand. Ades stopped mid-sentence. He already knew what he was going to say. The Mobius Zero squadron was supposed to have been decimated at the Grimaldi Front. In a last ditch effort to send ZAFT packing from the moon's surface, they set off the Cyclops System. An array of microwave emitters buried under the Earth Forces Endymion crater base. Majority of ZAFT's forces on the moon were lost in the destruction. The Earth wasn't without its losses fortunately. Their elite Mobius Zero Corps. fell in the aftermath. All except one that is… Their single survivor was hoisted above all others who served for his exemplary bravery in the face of the enemy. He was awarded medal after medal. They named him Hawk of Endymion, Ace of Aces in all the Earth's Sphere. He took down five GINNs during the final battle of the Endymion all by himself. Such a feat for a Natural should been impossible. It took several normal type Mobius units to kill a single basic GINN. The TS-MA2mod.00 Mobius Zero was far from a typical mobile armor. The unit had a total of nine guns: two on each gunbarrel of the four mounted on the fighter's tail end and one linear gun on the bow. When the gunbarrels deployed, they guided by wires controlled by the pilot's direct commands and feedback from an advanced targeting computer.

Not just anybody could pilot these special machines. An equally unusual type of pilot was required to make it live up to its true potential. Exceptional spatial awareness was an incredibly rare talent among both sides of the war. The Earth was the leader in spatial awareness weapons. ZAFT, on the other hand, ignored developing them. There were fewer Coordinators who possessed the prerequisite special abilities to operate such complex systems. Besides, it wasn't like they needed them. ZAFT had the edge in the mobile suit. Naturals weren't capable of constructing them let alone using them. Many Coordinators would've scoffed at the thought of Natural use mobile suits. Until now…

Le Creuset and his outfit were here for this very reason. He kicked off the floor, floating towards the elevator. Ades looked over his shoulder curiously. "Sir? Where are you going?"

The vicious smile from before appeared on the masked commander's face. Looking back at Ades, he said casually. "I'm going to swat an annoying fly." Le Creuset vanished behind the hissing elevator door. A shudder passed through Captain Fredrick Ades. Times like this were when he regretted joining the Le Creuset Team.

Mu wasn't surprised ZAFT found out the secret Heliopolis factory. It was bound to be unveiled sooner or later. This time it was sooner rather than later. Mu cursed to himself softly. Escorting the G-Weapon test pilots was supposed to be a simple operation. Go from point A to point B. Easy, right? With Rau Le Creuset on his tail, nothing was…

Mu could feel him. He wasn't sure where… He never knew where Le Creuset would come from: Above, below, or behind. Anywhere at any time Le Creuset could appear almost from the ether. No matter what, Mu was at the ready.

"This is Miguel Aiman! Emergency! I've lost control of my machine!"

Ades patched Miguel's message to Le Creuset's cockpit speakers. He frowned. Le Creuset never expected this kind of difficulty. His elites were being downed left and right. There were major casualties in the green commandos he deployed. The reds were less. Rusty Mackenzie lost his life in the chaos. In its own way was disappointing, he invested a lot of time and resources into getting Mackenzie into top form this special operation. His loss was acceptable… The mission was an overall success. Five out of seven of the known G-Weapons were in his possession. They were undergoing adjustments and investigation as he sat here.

His operation was pretty much complete. He simply had a few loose ends to tie up now. He supposed the first was more fun than anything else. He wanted to mess with Mu again... Slowly break him until he is ready to shatter into a million pieces. The second was more personal… Miguel had smudged his immaculate reputation. Le Creuset was going to wipe it clean.

Le Creuset walked his machine to the catapult. Its bulky pearly white bulky body gleamed in the hangar's flood lights. The mobile weapon's whites became more sterile and its black firearms shined. Keying his radio, Creuset ordered Ades. "When I sortie, recall all remaining mobile suits. Give them a taste of Equipment Grade D."

"Grade D?" Ades questioned. Equipment-D was a heavy weapons load out used for full on battles against fortresses. He chuckled at the puzzled expression Ades made on the monitor. "It'll all make sense soon enough, Captain."

The pearly white CGUE took off. Its giant thrusters spat white hot fire, aiding Le Creuset in his pursuit. He pushed onward until he was near the colony's outer wall. He slowed himself to an idle drift. He knew La Flaga could pick him up easily on his heat signature if he used his main thrusters too much. He used his CGUE's main cold adjustment verniers to maneuver himself. Why go to such trouble when he had the technological advantage? It was the nature of their game: Predator and prey, cat and mouse. Le Creuset fancied himself the Hunter and La Flaga the Hunted.

His machine's alarms sounded off. Dozens of meters ahead, La Flaga patrolled. He knew he was looking for him. He kept his head on swivel just for him. This touched Le Creuset in an odd way. "I know you can feel me, Mu." Le Creuset hissed. His voice dripped with hatred. The hate wasn't the same petty fear driven brand the people in the PLANTs and on Earth carried for each other. Their scorn for each other was a cold, chilling blizzard reaching shared by the deepest and darkest depths of their souls. Their loathing connected them to fate itself. They couldn't exist without the other just as light couldn't exist without shadow. Without the other there was no meaning. No purpose for being, other than to take up space in an already shrinking cosmos.

Yet, with in the cruel depths of hate there existed a type of happiness. A twisted opium that only could be extracted in times of violence. It ran through his veins like fire; Giving him a sense of limitless power and eternal joy. It all fell into place right then. The universe seemed to make sense. For brief moment in time, perfection was achieved through their chaotic dance.

Le Creuset didn't know if Mu felt the same. He didn't want to know… If he knew, he might have stopped hating him. He couldn't share anything with him. Not as long as he was that man's son. "The call of vengeance links us…Mu La Flaga." Le Creuset sneered. His mobile suit raised its rifle and fired.

Le Creuset knew Mu wouldn't be caught dead so easily. His eyes were as sharp as the bird of prey he was named after. He skillfully evaded any damage. Somehow, La Flaga's Zero had slipped behind him. Its four massive gunbarrels separated, firing a volley on the CGUE's every side. He was outgunned and at a severe disadvantage. He wouldn't have had it any other way.

Le Creuset vanished from La Flaga's line of sight. From above he attempted to pelt the Zero with his own fire. La Flaga's gunbarrels returned to the fuselage, boosting him to the side and away from danger. Mu and Le Creuset dodged and weaved and traded for fire for minutes on end. Neither of them seemed to yield results.

Le Creuset cursed harshly under his breath. Pure hatred dripped from his gums when he spoke. "You're always standing in my way, Mu! Perhaps I should do you the same service?" Unleashing his shield mounted chain gun on Zero, he unexpectedly changed course. "Away we go…" Le Creuset murmured, a slight smile tugging on his lips. His CGUE entered Heliopolis through a side harbor. Le Creuset saw Mu following him inside on his monitor.

Le Creuset laughed to himself. He could hear Mu cursing his very existence. He knew for sure his rival would follow him. Le Creuset knew Mu had an inkling this was a trap. None the less, Mu would trail behind. Always… Because the invisible threads of fate connected them. Where ever either of them went the other would be tugged behind ever if they were dragged into Hell's freezing depths. Le Creuset felt a knife of cold go up his spine. He knew Mu felt it as well… That was how deep their hate was for each other.

"Goddammit…" Mu cursed out loud. He gave chase to the ZAFT mobile weapon, zipping and bounding through the constricted spaceport. Mu's Zero scraped the side of a cruiser. The sound of metal on metal grated against his ear drums like nails on a chalk board. He knew it was going to be a bitch to buff out. In the wink of an eye, Le Creuset led him into Heliopolis's Central Shaft. It was the colony's literal back bone and the source of all industry in the colony. If someone fought inside here, the result wouldn't be pleasant. Damaging the shaft would also severely degrade the colony's structural integrity. Meaning, if the shaft went down the entirety of Heliopolis would vanish along with it. Le Creuset weaved around buildings, using them as shields, and occasionally firing back at him.

It was a coward's tactics. He knew Le Creuset didn't care. His blood ran cool like a reptile's. He used any means necessary to win a battle; Even if it meant a colony or two full of millions collapsed into the empty vacuum. A small part of Mu respected that, an extremely miniscule part pounded into him from his brutal career. At his core he was still human, he couldn't bring himself to harm innocents for the sake of his petty grudge. He hesitated no matter how many times over he could've killed Le Creuset. If he fired…Mu couldn't bear to imagine the consequences.

Le Creuset, the ever cunning bastard, didn't have such qualms. He fired accurately in the light of Mu's indecision. His gunbarrels vanished into dust one by one. Mu grinded his teeth in frustration, he dodged narrowly around Le Creuset's fire. In the back of his mind, he felt Le Creuset taunting him. There was no room for kindness in the middle of a war. Not in a fight between bitter rivals.

"Admirable, Mu…" Le Creuset whispered. "But still foolish!" Lining up his sights, he switched up his rifle's clip for a different ammo type. The light rounds he had for hunting mobile armors simply would not do. He switched up to a heavier armor piercing clip, discarding the lighter ammo into zero gravity. Le Creuset fired and Mu juked to the side. What Mu didn't realize was he wasn't aiming for him. The shaft's wall was rendered into nothing. Le Creuset slipped through his newly created exit while the dust was still high.

.

Mu gasped in horror. The Central Shaft rumbled violently. Even in the center of chaos, he didn't falter. Mu went through the gaping hole… He hoped Heliopolis would hold up.

"I'm tellin' you people I'm not with ZAFT!"

Murrue messaged her temples. She never wanted to shoot anybody more now. The ZAFT soldier who K.O.-ed himself a couple of minutes ago woke up. He hadn't stopped talking ever since… He'd denied allegations of being a ZAFT soldier despite the overwhelmingly red evidence he wore on his person. You couldn't catch a criminal more red handed if he were dipped in evil intent and sent into town with a death ray. With that in mind… Why didn't she put a bullet in his head? She supposed she was much too nice for her own good.

"Yeah right…" Tolle sitting on the red's back to restrain him snorted derisively. "If that's so, why're you wearing that uniform? Nobody who's not in ZAFT would dream of wearing that."

"Duh, Asshole!" The ZAFT soldier said loudly. Murrue could imagine him rolling his eyes. He explained to him as if he were a tad simple. "That's 'cause I stole it! The guy wearing it didn't need it anymore! Bein' dead and all! I was lucky to find 'im… He was the only guy who didn't shit himself. Guy was smart enough to evacuate himself beforehand. He didn't wanna embarrass himself when he came home in a pine box, I guess." He shrugged under Tolle's weight. Tolle made a disgusted face. Murrue felt her own stomach turn. She hoped this brat was lying. His story was simply too screwed up for words.

"If I could, Rusty Mckenzie…" The 'ZAFT' soldier continued sadly. "I'd salute ya right now… You were obviously not a total douche bag. Not like some dicks who call themselves friends. 'I'll pick you up when ZAFT attacks' my finely tanned ass." He did a mocking interpretation of some else's voice. It was high pitched and dumb sounding. "'We can't do this, Keijiro. That's wrong…'. You'd think he was my effin' conscience or somethin'." He said in a low growl. "I swear I'll kick his douche bag ass all the way to…"

"Wait…" Miriallia spoke up, cutting him off all together. "You're Keijiro aren't you? Daisuke's friend?"

"Huh?" The restrained soldier tilted his head slightly. "How d'ya know my name, hot stuff?"

Tolle scowled. He punched Keijiro in the arm. Keijiro would've stifled a few choice words of his if he were the type with a clean mouth. "Her name is Miriallia Haw, dufus. She's my girl so keep the smooth talk to a minimum."

"Fair enough." Keijiro allowed. He scowled under his helmet. "You've got a lot of balls hittin' Keijiro Mishima like that. I think I like you…" He added with a snuggery sweet voice. "Get off me and I'll be your best friend."

"Not a chance, Mister ZAFT…" Tolle said simply. "If I let you go… Well, I dunno what might happen. Just because you're Daisuke's friend doesn't mean you're gonna get off. To think you were with ZAFT this entire time… You ought to be ashamed of yourself using your friend to infiltrate our home."

"I told ja I'm not with ZAFT!" Keijiro snapped once again. Murrue wondered if this dumb kid knew how to do an inside voice. "I stole this smelly assed suit from a dead guy. Besides-"

"Where's the truck?" Murrue groaned out of pure irritation. She was starting to get a headache from Keijiro's incessant babbling. She got from the bench she sat on and walked forward a dozen paces. She furiously squinted at the distance… It didn't make the truck come any faster. "I sent them out to get it fifteen minutes ago… What's taking them so long?"

Suddenly, things got very quiet. Murrue grabbed her gun… Did the ZAFT Soldier escape? Instead of getting violent, Murrue raised an eyebrow at the strange interaction going on before her eyes.

"Thank you!" Keijiro exclaimed happily. Tolle slipped the red helmet off his head, revealing a black colored mane of red splotched hair. Not all of it was the dark red highlights going along jagged paths in his hair. He looked up at them with big yellow cat like eyes framed by a tan face. A messy goatee sprouted around his equally dirty mouth. The fingers of black flames from a tattoo unseen thanks to the space suit's collar licked at his neck. For his age, he was a very big boy. He was almost about the size of a full grown man. A lot of things about this boy seemed to scream punk. If this kid was a ZAFT soldier, she was the Chief Representative of Orb.

Tolle held the helmet up to his face and grimaced. "God… You were right this thing smells like ass."

"And death…" Keijiro said humorlessly. Frowning deeply, he shook himself at the very thought of the smell. "I didn't clean all the brains out of there. Can somebody pick this shit outta of my hair? I think it might be settling into my scalp." He whined, practically begging for their help. Murrue never thought she'd hear the "legendary" Keijiro Mishima groveling. She heard rumors of a gang of Mishima "Yakuza" led by the just and strong Keijiro. They righted wrongs and brought the unjust to justice. Within the space of six months of him appearing, all the local gangs and known crime syndicates vanished off the face of the map. He either forced them to join his gang or spaced them. That was the rumor, anyhow… She never read anything in the paper about space based deaths recently. More than enough arrests were prominent. Just the other week a major crime boss visiting from Earth was jailed for possessing illegal goods. The newspaper credited the police with big break on the major case. The word on the street was the exact opposite. The aptly named Akumetsu, named by local Japanese store owner whose shop was saved from robbery by the vigilantes, were the real heroes. The name Akumetsu quickly caught on for the people of Heliopolis. The "Destroyers of Evil" or Akumetsu became a name synonymous with Justice, Hope, Peace, Goodness, and Fear. Justice for the criminals who threatened the Peace of society, Hope for those trapped in a darkening world at war, a boon to let people know there was still Goodness thriving in the world, and finally Fear for those outlaws hiding in the shadows possibly thinking of sparking their recidivism.

Some people considered them heroes to be praised for their goodhearted efforts. Others had only scorn for them… thinking Akumetsu wasn't any better than the criminals they persecuted. Murrue kept out of the discussion when it was brought up in her local drinking hole. She didn't want to get into it… It wasn't her home. No matter how much she wanted this peaceful haven to be just that.

Murrue closed her eyes for a moment. She took a moment to get her head back in the game. Once again, Murrue Ramius was composed for business. She left the weird sight of Tolle scratching Keijiro's multicolored head for the kneeling Strike. Maybe the X-105 was an eerie thing to witness itself. Murrue never thought she would see Natural use combat mobile suits come into being. Yet, here it was before her kowtowing to her like she was royalty. Weirder still… Her theoretical enemy was piloting her titanic knight. Murrue wished the irony had failed to reach her.

Letting out a long suffering sigh, she thought to herself. _Just __take __it __one __step __at __a __time__, __Murrue__. __Just __take __it __one __step __at __a __time_. It was a mantra she'd used over and over again until she finally settled her uneasy mind. "Alright…" She breathed in and out. "Time to let your officer training take control."

She hoped to Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit nobody heard her right then. Last thing she needed to show to these children was weakness. She was the final wall between them and complete destruction. She felt confidence flowing through her again. She hoped her reassurances instilled a permanent firmness inside her.

"Kira!" She called up to his perch in the Strike. All she could hear for a moment was furious typing. It was good to know someone else other than her was doing their job. "Can you try and make contact with allied forces again? There has to be somebody alive out there!"

A weary "Yes, ma'am" was all she got from him. Considering the way she coerced these young people into helping her, a weary answer was the best Murrue could continue to hope for.

A cold, dull emptiness gripped Natarle Badgiruel's world. She floated in stagnate space for what seemed like forever. Never moving, and never changing. All she did up to this point was a life wasted.

Or maybe not… Natarle stirred awake, she felt something bump against her. Her dark violet eyes fluttered open. Her head throbbed terribly. She hadn't had a migraine this bad since the morning after her Naval Academy graduation party. The body she woke up next to wasn't as warm or ugly as the one she woke up next to that very awkward morning. Natarle didn't realize where she was for several seconds. Regaining her bearings wasn't difficult. She'd always been quick on her feet. Maybe not in her feet in this case… She was ten feet off the ground and intimately close with an individual of the dead variety. Natarle gently shoved the man aside, as handsome as he was she knew her parents wouldn't approve. Necrophilia wasn't very popular with them or anybody for that matter.

She frowned deeply. She recognized the man's face. He was an officer, right hand man of Captain O'Neil. His name escaped her… Natarle had just met him minutes before in the command room viewing the Archangel's grandiose form. He was escorting her and the other new blood to the Archangel for their integration into her crew. They were chatting about the Archangel's specifications when it all happened. The ground shook and… She didn't know what happened next. She woke up here this man's arms wrapped around her. Natarle had a grim realization.

"You shielded me, didn't you?" She whispered. A mix of guilt and appreciation escaped her. "Thank you, Commander Rankin." She saluted the late Commander crisply. "Your sacrifice won't be in vain…" She used the ceiling as a spring board. Natarle bounced through the zero gravity hallways. She hit a door she knew lead to the Archangel. The usually automatic door didn't move at her presence. She hit the various buttons on the console by the door. No matter how many button combinations she hit, a beep repeated her denial. Out of pure frustration, she pounded her fist against the metal door. Natarle cursed harshly. Her dainty knuckles pulsed with pain.

At this rate she'd have to… A sound interrupted her thoughts. A metallic thud resounded down the hallway from her. "Ensign Badgiruel!" A familiar voice drew her over. She did 180 degree turn, Natarle was never so glad to see a familiar face. Arnold Neumann, a member of the Archangel Bridge crew, floated towards her. "There you are!" He practically shouted worriedly at the top of his lungs. "Are you okay?"

"I'm no worse for wear, Chief Neumann." She replied dismissively. Already, she kicked herself away from the door past Neumann. As always, Natarle Badgiruel was all business and no hesitation. "Hurry!" She barked. Natarle shot out down the hallway like a fresh round cracking from the barrel of a gun. "We need to get to the Archangel pronto!"

Arnold blinked, watching Natarle vanish around a corner. "Ensign… The Archangel's the other way."

"I knew that!" Natarle snapped, reappearing in the intersection then disappearing into the metallic corridor beyond. Newman grinned to himself. He spotted a slight embarrassed blush on her face. A person in the military might consider that a moment of incompetence, but Arnold found it endearing. It was nice to see past the iron hard exterior for once. He hoped he'd get the chance-

"Are you coming or not, Neumann!" Neumann flinched slightly at the sound of her earsplitting command. The echo of it reverberating through the stark quiet halls made it all the worse. Neumann stammered a weak "yes ma'am". He followed like an obedient soldier. He ventured to guess digging up the real Natarle would be difficult.

Not to mention time consuming…

Kira took a deep breath… He let it out slowly. He had to fight the temptation to squish the woman threatening him with the gun. He sank into the Strike's seat. He might as well be glued to the seat. As long as that woman had the gun, she had the hand in this situation. He had the gun as well: A very big powered down gun. He bided his time until he could get the power pack the Earth Forces officer promised to him was delivered by Sai and Kuzzey. Kira didn't know what he was going to do then. He didn't want to kill her… That was for sure. The thought of him committing such an unspeakable act sickened him to the core. He dismissed the thought totally.

Kira heard a rumble of an engine coming to a complete halt outside. He hadn't the slightest clue of what he was going to do. Kira wished Athrun was here to tell him what to do. He was always the one who had the plan. He prepared while Kira just dawdled. Athrun was the soldier… He was the victim of circumstance. The difference between the two boys was too great.

_Where's __your __conviction __from __before__?_ Kira inwardly asked himself. He felt no conviction rise in his heart. An empty thud against the mind's walls was all he got. Reality was Kira Yamato was a scared kid trapped in a situation beyond his control. He would've traded a piece of his soul for a solution. No Devil popped on his shoulder to give him an offer he couldn't refuse. A divine hand didn't reach out from the Ether to rescue him. All he had was himself to rely on. Survival was a hell of a crash course on the real world.

Another lesson was on its way from the school of Life and Death. For what seemed like the hundredth time today, the ground quivered as if in throes of indescribable agony. It wasn't simply the ground that seizured, Heliopolis's entire cylindrical frame strained all the way down to its most simple nuts and bolts. If things went on this way for much longer, the colony's fate would indeed be terminal.

Kira didn't give the coming destruction much thought. His head snapped up, focusing on the Strike's view screens. The central shaft had suddenly exploded, creating a great cloud of debris in its wake. From the destruction emerged two battling blurs colored bright bird orange and the other colored pale rider white. The orange bird was a fighter and the pale manifestation of death was a mobile suit. The two cut through the air, carving a deadly dance of their own through the colony. The mobile armor pulled up to narrowly dodge a barrage of gattling cannon fire only to have the great titan appear right above it. Deftly it cut though its cannon mounted on its bow. Just as soon as it stuck the bird, it pealed off from their devilish dance. Almost as if it had forgotten something, the mobile suit's evil single evil red eye glanced back his former opponent. The mobile armor was weaponless and therefore powerless. He couldn't hope to do much more damage unless it wanted to risk one last suicidal charge. The mobile suit didn't seem to care. Lose ends left untied were still risks. It raised its arm, the cannon mounted on its shield spun furiously and unloaded a volley of fire. All of the shots it fired seemed to miss its proscribed target. Except for one… That last round pierced the mobile armor's thrusters. Its tail smoked something dangerous. Fire belched out at the wrong points until it regurgitated red hot one last red hot flame. The orange bird fell from the sky. No one could be sure about its precious cargo.

The deathly white giant continued onward towards Kira, promising nothing but destruction to him and everything he knew. Kira screamed at the top of his lungs. Out of fear or challenge? He truly couldn't tell. All he knew was his life was on the line. Weapons snapped together with his mobile knight's steel frame. The chassis lit up unlimited sky blue, challenging red, and shining knight white. Kira took a step forward, weapons powered to full capacity. This battle might be his…

Another boom shook the world to the core and lit a fire of hope up in dire times. A grand angel of protection would challenge death. Kira's heart skipped a beat. He'd never seen a more beautiful sight in his life. For a moment, he had the feeling everything would be alright.


End file.
